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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23267182">Scion's Heart, Dragon's Soul</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draconic_Grace/pseuds/Draconic_Grace'>Draconic_Grace</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy XIV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Angst and Porn, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexuality, Character Study, Consensual Kink, Consensual Sex, Deliberate misuse of healing magic, Dom/sub, Dom/sub Play, Dominance, Dragons, Dragoon Lore, Dragoon Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Erotica, Eventual group sex, Explicit Consent, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Families of Choice, Female Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Spoilers, Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood Spoilers, First Time, Found Family, Kink Negotiation, Loss of Virginity, Love Confessions, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mating Rituals, Mind Meld, Miqo'te Headcanon (Final Fantasy XIV), Miqo'te Lore, Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Miqo'te culture, Multi, Mutual Masturbation, Named Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Non-Linear Narrative, Not Canon Compliant, OFC - Freeform, Older Alisaie Leveilleur, Older Alphinaud Leveilleur, Older Woman/Younger Man, Older Woman/Younger Woman, Original Character-centric, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, POV Alternating, POV Multiple, POV Original Character, POV Third Person, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Porn, Possessive Behavior, Post-Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers, Praise Kink, Romance, Shameless Smut, Smut, Thancred is an emotional disaster, The Author is self-indulgent, Urianger Augurelt: Secret Sex God, dragon instincts, the unfairly attractive emotionally repressed men of Final Fantasy XIV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 07:07:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>79,121</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23267182</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draconic_Grace/pseuds/Draconic_Grace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>To love a Scion is a dangerous thing; to love an Archon, doubly so. That doesn't mean the Warrior of Light will stop loving them anytime soon.</p>
<p>Besides, every dragon needs a hoard, and every Miqo'te needs a tribe. </p>
<p>In the Scions, she just might find both.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alisaie Leveilleur/Warrior of Light, Alphinaud Leveilleur/Warrior of Light, G'raha Tia | Crystal Exarch/Warrior of Light, Scions of the Seventh Dawn &amp; Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Urianger Augurelt/Warrior of Light, Warrior of Light/Thancred Waters, Y'shtola Rhul/Warrior of Light</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>173</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Alphinaud: The Arcanist's Request (Kholusia)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Can I offer you some smut in these trying times? </p>
<p>It might just be me, but imho Shadowbringers was poly af with the WoL. I have scoured the archive for poly!WoL/Scions fics and have so far come up empty handed; and there’s the saying, if you want something done, you have to do it yourself, so here it is! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. </p>
<p>I hope to update every week or so, depending on time, but most of this fic is already written and/or outlined.  </p>
<p>CW: Alphinaud and Alisaie are aged-up and twenty years old in this story. Please mind the tags!</p>
<p>Spoiler Warning: Major Spoilers for all of ARR, Heavensward, Stormblood and especially Shadowbringers through Patch 5.0. </p>
<p>Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIV belongs to Square-Enix.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Meantime, while Fate allows, let us be one in love. Soon will Death be here with his head cowled in dark. Soon will steal on us the inactive age, nor will it be seemly to play the lover or utter soft speeches when the head is hoar. Now let...love be my pursuit while it is no shame... </em>
</p>
<p>Tibullus, Elegies</p>
<p>LCL 6:196-197</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>To love a Scion is a dangerous thing; to love an Archon, doubly so. It's not just the implicit threat to life that they face in battle after battle, though after besting several Calamities together, Tetri figures that doesn't exactly help matters. It's that Tetri's become used to loss, used to losing the ones she loves, and she hates that. Hydaelyn didn't exactly give her a concise summary of what her duty as the Warrior of Light would entail when Tetri was given Her blessing, nor was she informed of the possible risks. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The years since in Ishgard, Doma, and Ala Mhigo, however, have proven to her the real cost of her title. The cost of caring about the Warrior of Light. When the Miqo'te dragoon chases sleep at night (or what passes for night underneath the accursed bane that is the Flood, anyway), she sees them in her mind, in the gossamer mist between wakefulness and slumber: Papalymo, Tesleen, Moenbryda, countless others. As the fallen parade past her, fixing Tetri with accusatory glances, it is always Haurchefaunt who brings up the rear. Her kind Elezen lover, the noble Ishgardian knight who died saving her life, always smiling, always bleeding from the corner of his mouth, his skin the ashen grey of the dead.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Smile, my love," he tends to say. "A smile better suits a hero." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She awakened with a start, jolting upwards from her bedroll with a gasp. Her body was drenched in sweat underneath her blouse and leggings; only loose clothing would do, to ease her jumps into the skies while fully clad in her dragoon's armor. Still half asleep, she instinctively grasped for the spear laying beside her, its weight a comfort once it was gripped in between her clenched fists. She struggled to slow her breathing, to calm her racing heart, and looked about, seeing her armor kit on the ground beside her, and beyond that, a campfire filled with dying embers, warding off the chill of what passed for evening in Kholusia.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Are you alright, Tetri?” asked Alphinaud, and she looked up at him where he sat on the other side of the fire. He was clad in his raggedy clothing, loose leather trousers and a long brown traveling tunic adorned with feathers like a village shaman, with his braided queue pulled over the hood. Beside him, his grimoire lay open, and sitting obediently next to it was his moonstone carbuncle, who turned its shimmering head and, seeing her, warbled in greeting. He smiled at her, and Tetri felt disarmed at the sight of her friend.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I figured I would take the first watch,” he said. “You seemed tired after your journey here from the Crystarium, though I heard you muttering and moving about in your sleep. Do you want to talk about it?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> I thought you were dead, </em> Tetri thought, looking at his azure gaze, feeling a pang of sorrow at remembering his seemingly lifeless body in Gaius van Belsar’s arms. <em> I thought I had lost you forever, that I would never behold your eyes again. That I would never be able to tell you-- </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>She shook her head, both to clear it and to answer him.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Just nightmares,” she replied, looking down at the ground, her hands still about her lance, though she lay half in her bedroll. Alphinaud and Alisaie were both twenty summers old, now; they were most certainly adults, but that didn’t mean they deserved to be burdened by Tetri’s feelings, both for them and about them. She didn’t fully understand her own feelings, herself, so she shoved them down into the recesses of her mind where she could avoid treading, filling the space between with her many quests and battles. After all, she had her duty; it didn’t quite matter what she thought, or felt, about any of it. Besides, the Archons had been through enough, being stuck in a different world, confronted with all manner of horrors brought on by the sin eaters. They didn’t need the Warrior of Light’s ill-focused desires to distract them from the mission.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lost in her dark thoughts, she missed Alphinaud gazing at her across their camp with his own thinly disguised longing. He stared at her, having thought of her nearly every day since his arrival in the First a year prior. Tetri seemed no worse for wear on the outside, as far as he could determine: same elfin, round cheekbones adorned with myriad brown and white facial markings, characteristic of most Miqo’te, same long purple ears and tail, same close-cropped purple and white hair. Same ruby eyes that he loved to lose himself in when she wasn’t looking. Alphinaud had worked hard to improve his skills as an arcanist and a healer in the year since his arrival, wanting to hold his own with Tetri once she had inevitably arrived, and he finally felt like he could do so. What he could no longer do, however, was deny how he felt about the Warrior of Light, now that she was mere fulms away from him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>They had more than several malms to cover to reach the shantytown outskirts of Eulmore, however, and the prospect of that long journey on foot, sans mount, plus the subterfuge necessary to get into Eulmore, required that they both had their wits about them. That meant they had to sleep. Alphinaud had slept deeply in the town of Wright during the previous bright evening. Though the light of the Flood was ever present, the people of Norvrandt still made sure to observe a sort of evening, regardless, for the sake of survival as well as preserving what semblance of normalcy available. He thus didn’t mind taking first watch, even if it was for most of the night; from the dark circles and bags around her eyes, he could tell that Tetri needed her rest more than he did at the moment. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tetri,” he said, and the Miqo’te startled at his voice, her hands shaking around her spear as she looked up at him, her long ears twitching with anxiety. Her ruby eyes were glassy, bloodshot from lack of sleep. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You should rest, my friend,” Alphinaud said gently, allowing his regard of her to shine through in his voice. Just because he could not touch her, didn’t mean he couldn’t show his friend that he cared about her in some other fashion. He no longer wanted to deny his feelings for the Warrior of Light, this was true, but he also knew the time was not right to reveal them, if ever. They had their duty, as Archons, as Scions of the Seventh Dawn, and Norvrandt would never see the return of night again if they didn’t solve the ever-present mystery of the Flood. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud watched as Tetri regarded him silently, blinking, before slowly lowering her spear to the side of her bedroll. She ran her hands over her face, then, groaning. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Right,” she croaked, “you’re right, I’m exhausted.” The Miqo’te moved further into her bedroll, peering at him from across the camp.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You have the watch, then?” she asked, and he nodded, gripping the edge of his grimoire, giving her a small grin.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We have this, Tetri,” he said, wanting to reassure her. His moonstone carbuncle twitched its shimmering ears and warbled beside him, as if to echo the promise of its master. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Please rest, for now,” he said, and was rewarded with a nod from his companion.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Alright,” said Tetri. “Wake me in a few bells and I’ll take over then.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She snuggled into her bedroll, turning over with a huff, and Alphinaud could see the movement of her long tail underneath as she attempted to get comfortable. Alphinaud hid a smile; he was glad that, after all they had been through together, through the Dragonsong War and beyond, the Warrior of Light trusted him to have her back. He was grateful for all his hard work over the past year at improving his magical combat abilities. No more would he be a nuisance to warriors like Tetri or Estinien, getting in their way while his allies turned back the tide. He was a Scion of the Seventh Dawn, and he could now hold his own! His carbuncle squeaked beside him, feeling an echoing surge of its master’s determination. Though not entirely telepathic, Alphinaud’s advanced aetherpact with his summon allowed him a modicum of mental connection, in order to direct his carbuncle without the need to speak aloud. It was a marvelous foundation devised by Eorzea’s mages, in order to free arcanists and other mages to cast incantations meant to turn the tide in battle. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>His mind thus occupied, scanning the horizon for stray sin eaters with his trusty carbuncle at his side, it was some time before Alphinaud finally heard the soft sounds echoing from his companion’s bedroll across the camp. Blinking, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him, he turned to glance in Tetri’s direction, watching as the Warrior of Light’s bedroll rocked slightly back and forth. Alphinaud swallowed, his mouth dry as sandpaper. Was she really--no, she wasn’t actually--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em> Ahhh </em> --come on, godsdamnit-- <em> hahhh! </em>”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud immediately turned back towards the horizon, feeling his cheeks burning with embarrassment at his accidental eavesdropping of what was meant to be a private moment. He closed his eyes, feeling his face flush further in shame as a spark of pure lust settled low in his abdomen, and the Elezen could feel himself already half-hard underneath his smallclothes. Unfortunately, Alphinaud found that closing his eyes just enhanced his already keen sense of hearing, and soon he couldn’t drown out the Warrior of Light’s soft moans and gasps drifting across the camp. His carbuncle squeaked at him in a questioning manner, picking up on its master’s consternation, and Alphinaud opened his eyes, scowling at the horizon before him. Why now?! Why did he have to overhear her?! </p>
<p> </p>
<p>A wave of fresh shame overtook him, then, and with it, guilt at the lust that was now burning him up from within. Alphinaud tightened his fingers on his grimoire. Of course, such an activity was a completely natural instinct, and he reasoned that Tetri likely was just doing so to relax. Alphinaud had lost count of the number of times he had made himself climax before sleep; he was a young man, after all. Having travelled together for years, he was certain Tetri had overheard him at least several times, as well, especially while camping closely throughout Dravania. There was nothing wrong with it. So why was Alphinaud still listening to her, and why couldn’t he stop?! The Elezen’s yearning for the Miqo’te grew, threatening to overwhelm him completely, his cock now fully hard and straining against the front of his trousers. He could hear the Warrior of Light’s gasps grow higher in pitch, though it was obvious she was trying to stay quiet. Alphinaud gritted his teeth as he heard Tetri whisper a colorful oath, her tone one of frustration; she was evidently having difficulty achieving release on her own.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At the overhearing of her whispered expletive, Alphinaud’s clever mind helpfully provided him with an insane idea. He’d had a lot of insane ideas over the years, in the course of saving Eorzea, but this one was perhaps one of the most outlandish. He bit back a groan as he heard more rustling behind him, running a hand over the front of his pants, willing his hardness to recede, to no avail. At this rate, Alphinaud would have to take his own pleasure in order to even think clearly once more. That insane idea rose up again in his mind, and the young Arcanist warred between his desire for the Warrior of Light on the one hand, and common sense on the other. As he heard the Miqo’te moan quietly once more, Alphinaud grimaced in resignation, his resolve crumbling as his years-long desire for Tetri pulled him under its steady tide. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He turned to his moonstone carbuncle, stroking its long ears gently.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Keep watch for me, Moonstone,” he said quietly, and the carbuncle warbled an affirmative before turning back to scan the horizon before them. Barring any great use of his mana, his carbuncle would effectively stay summoned for several hours, or until he recalled it, and it would alert him of any wandering sin eaters, or anything else, for that matter. He hadn’t survived in the wilds of Kholusia this long merely on his wits, and his carbuncle had grown in strength along with him. He had every confidence in his summon, meaning he could turn his attention to other things--or, rather, other people. Namely one Warrior of Light. Alphinaud bit his lip, suddenly overwhelmed with nerves, but he knew something had to give. If they weren’t going to sleep, they may as well have an uncomfortable conversation, by which the Elezen thought he could practice his diplomacy to particular ends. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gathering his courage, Alphinaud stowed his grimoire on his belt and turned about, creeping forward towards the campfire until he was sitting on the ground, half way to Tetri’s bedroll, which was still rocking back and forth. Alphinaud felt his cock twitch at the sight, imagining what she looked like underneath. He bit back his own groan of frustration, resisting the urge to take himself in hand. He ran a hand through his hair, tugging a bit at his plaited queue, before crossing his arms.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tetri,” he said quietly, his voice sounding unnaturally loud in the otherwise still air of the camp. Immediately, the bedroll stopped moving, and he thought he heard the Miqo’te swear under her breath. When she didn’t stir or reply, Alphinaud cleared his throat before speaking again. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tetri, I know you’re awake,” he said. “I can hear you. I know what you were doing, just now.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His heart began to race twice as fast as soon as he uttered the words aloud, but now he couldn’t take them back, and his fear was quickly morphing into excitement. He prayed to the Twelve that she wouldn’t slay him with her spear for taking such liberties with her personal boundaries; at the worst, their friendship would be over, but perhaps they’d still remain comrades in arms. He resisted the urge to leap backwards as he saw the Miqo’te move underneath her bedroll.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I--I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied, sounding flustered. Alphinaud felt guilt rush through him, once more, but he had already made his choice. He clenched his fists at his sides. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, you do,” he said, but quietly, trying to make it a statement of fact rather than an accusation. “We traveled side by side for two years, Tetri. We slept next to each other every night. I know what you sound like when you’re pleasuring yourself.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“W-what?!” she cried out. “I--I wasn’t--I wasn’t doing that!” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We both know that’s not true,” he replied, his calm belying the anxiety and arousal warring in his body. He bit his tongue to keep from speaking more; he had to give her a chance to respond. Sure enough, he saw the Warrior of Light finally sit up in her bedroll, peeking over the top of the blanket at him. Her cheeks were flushed red, long ears back against her head in consternation, her purple and white hair in complete disarray, and she was breathing hard. Alphinaud didn’t think he had ever seen someone so beautiful, but he kept that particular revelation to himself. She glared at him, her ruby eyes burning into his as if to set him aflame with dragonfire, and Alphinaud thought he might just let her, to free himself from the lust coursing through his veins. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Look, Alphinaud, I’m wired from traveling and I just thought it would help me sleep!” she hissed at him from across the campfire. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s not a big deal,” she continued. “I’m sorry, alright?! I’ll stop, hopefully I’ll fall asleep eventually. Somehow.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She huffed at him, crossing her arms underneath the blanket and turning away from him in a defensive posture. Alphinaud frowned; that would not do.          </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You don’t have to apologize, Tetri,” he said, and shrank backwards a bit as she whirled about to glare at him once more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Then <em> why </em> bring it up at all, Alphinaud?!” she said, her body simmering with rage, and Alphinaud thought he could see tendrils of blue dragonfire starting to erupt from the surface of her skin. He swallowed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Here I go, </em> he thought.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I could--I could help, if you want,” he said, proud that he didn’t stutter in nervousness.  “If you’re interested, that is.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tetri reeled back from him, as if struck, her eyes comically wide, her ears standing straight up above her head in shock. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You what?!” she cried, sounding utterly flummoxed. Alphinaud took a breath; he was expecting some surprise from her at his offer, but not this much.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Only if you’re interested, of course,” he said, laughing nervously, feeling a blush rise on his cheeks, allowing her to see his true feelings, not that he could hide them from her in the slightest. Above all, Tetri was his best friend, and he didn’t want to lose her, his secret carnal desires be damned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>For her part, Tetri was now staring at him warily, her eyes calculating as she examined him. He fought the urge to shake as he felt her gaze drift down his body, and he caught her staring for a few seconds at his hardness clearly visible through his thin leather trousers, before drifting back up to his face. He swallowed again, his mouth dry; he had considered trying to cover himself, but there was no point. For years Alphinaud had yearned for her, was now burning with desire at having heard her cries, and he wanted her to see just how much she affected him, just how much he wanted her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Alphinaud, I--” Tetri huffed out a laugh of disbelief, shaking her head before looking up at him again, her ears twitching. She stared at him, and he stared back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Have you ever even--” she began.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, I’ve never had sex, not yet,” he interrupted, having anticipated the question, proud of himself for not stuttering over the word. “We’ve been too busy saving the world for me to entertain notions of courtship, or even a visit to a brothel, for that matter. Not that I’m interested in such...seedy establishments.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I was going to say ‘taken a lover,’ but I suppose that works, as well,” replied Tetri wryly, smirking at him, and it was Alphinaud’s turn to look away, feeling his cheeks flush anew with a combination of embarrassment and desire.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How did you expect to help me, then? If you don’t really know what you’re doing?” she asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He shrugged, attempting to appear nonchalant and certain he looked anything but. He ran a hand through his hair as he looked back at his friend.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I figure it would at least be more exciting for you than a solo activity,” he said, “and I certainly could use the practice. Once the time arrives, I’d rather not be caught lacking in my ability to please a partner.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ah, I see,” Tetri said, her ears twitching, lips pursed in thought. Alphinaud shifted about nervously, crossing his arms, suddenly filled with guilt and doubt.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“If you don’t want to, that’s perfectly fine,” he said in a rush. “I would never want you to feel obligated to do something you truly don’t want to do! I know it’s a bit much--I mean, that it’s presumptuous of me to even ask, but--Tetri, you’re my friend, and I thought--”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“When did I say I wasn’t interested, Alphinaud?” asked Tetri. Alphinaud’s words died on his lips, as he was stunned into silence.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hmm,” said the Warrior of Light, a small smile forming on her face, her ruby eyes gleaming. Alphinaud gulped, wondering what he had just gotten himself into. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So, no one has ever touched you?” she asked calmly, as if discussing the weather. “No man or woman has ever laid hands on you?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I--that is--no, not at all,” Alphinaud stammered out a reply, feeling a flush creep down his neck. Her no-nonsense tone of voice sent a rush of want straight to his groin, and he was now painfully hard underneath his smalls.            </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What about kissing? Have you ever been kissed before, then?” she asked, and Alphinaud thought he could hear her voice drop an octave or two. He fought back a shudder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No,” he whispered, his mouth dry. “Nothing…” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You said you knew what I sounded like, when I’m pleasuring myself,” said Tetri. “How long have you listened to me? Was it during our trek across Dravania?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes,” he said. “Dravania, and then whenever I had the chance.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Did you touch yourself while listening to me?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ah, Tetri--yes, I did…” Alphinaud bit back a moan, clenching his fists to keep himself from palming his aching hardness.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Did you make yourself climax while you listened?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Gods </em>--Tetri, yes!” Alphinaud replied, and couldn’t hold back a moan of pure frustration.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Go ahead, Alphinaud,” she said, her voice low. “You can touch yourself now.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ah, but--” he started, but Tetri shook her head, her ruby eyes staring into his, and Alphinaud could see her eyes had darkened with desire, her pupils nearly fully dilated. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I want to see this passion you’ve kept hidden from me all this time,” she said. “I’ll make it even, though. I’ll watch you, and you can watch me. How does that sound?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud trembled at the thought of her eyes on him while he stroked himself to completion, and he felt his cock twitch in interest, but the sting of doubt still ached in his heart.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tetri, before we--I mean, before we do anything, I need to know if--if you actually want something like that, with me,” he said, his voice shaking only a little. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, I did offer,” she replied, “but I understand what you’re saying.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She looked down, sighing. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I do want to--<em>explore </em> this, with you, whatever this is,” she said. “But I don’t think we should necessarily rush into anything further, just yet. That’s why I suggested just watching each other, to start. See how we feel doing that. And then…” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She shrugged, looking up at him, and gave him a small smile. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We can take this as we go, I suppose,” she said. “No pressure, on either of us, and if you want to stop at any time, we will. What do you think, Alphinaud?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He nodded immediately, so quickly his bangs shook against his forehead. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes! I--I mean, I’d like that a lot,” he said, blushing as the Miqo’te let out a small laugh at his obvious enthusiasm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well then,” she said, smiling, then stood up from the bedroll, shuffling the blankets off of her, and Alphinaud’s mouth went dry as he saw that Tetri’s lower body was completely naked. He stared at the thatch of purple curls between her legs, the expanse of tanned skin across her toned stomach and thighs, and before his lust-addled brain could fully process the sight before him, she was swiftly pulling her dark blouse over her head, unclasping her brassiere and tossing both items of clothing onto the ground. Then the Warrior of Light stood before him, naked as her nameday, smiling at him, her cheeks flushed, one hand at her side, the other running through her hair. Her tan skin was adorned with various scars, a result of her numerous battles fought and won, but Alphinaud found that they only added to her allure, a sign of her strength and bravery as a hero. Tetri’s breasts were high and firm, with rosy nipples, and Alphinaud wanted to run his tongue across them until she moaned his name. He continued to gaze at her in awe, too stunned to even touch himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Miqo’te laughed softly at him, her long purple tail twitching behind her in mirth.   </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m guessing you like what you see,” she said, her voice thick with lust, and Alphinaud nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re so beautiful, Tetri,” he whispered, his longing increasing tenfold at the mere sight of her body before him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m glad you think so,” she said, sitting down to kneel on the bedroll before him, her legs tucked under her, her tail curled about her waist. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But now, out of the two of us, I’m feeling a bit underdressed,” she said, gesturing at him pointedly with a hand, as he was still fully clothed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, right!” said Alphinaud, and yanked his too-large shirt over his head with shaking hands. He stood up, yanking his pants and smallclothes down his legs and shuffling out of them before his nervousness could catch up with him. Then he was the one standing in front of her, his arms twitching at his sides as he finally stood bare to her gaze. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tetri gazed at Alphinaud’s lithe form. Shorter than most Elezen men, he was thin but muscular, with the wiry strength of a runner’s build, and his chest was dusted with a line of white hair running down the center of his pectorals down to his waist. His nipples were small and pointed in excitement, and Tetri gazed lower, where his cock stood proud from a nest of white curls between his legs. Though not very long, he appeared quite thick, especially around the base, and Tetri felt another rush of moisture between her legs as she imagined taking his length inside of her, or against her tongue. She shifted her thighs together restlessly at the sight, missing how her friend’s nostrils flared as the scent of her arousal finally reached him. Alphinaud uttered a small moan, sitting down on the other side of the bedroll and finally reaching down to stroke himself lightly. He closed his eyes and shuddered with relief as pleasure rocked through him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, that’s it,” she murmured, and Alphinaud heard Tetri shuffling about in front of him. He opened his eyes, and groaned as he saw the Miqo’te kneeling in front of him with her legs spread, her hand lightly stroking the glistening pink folds between her legs. The Warrior of Light began to pant, her long ears twitching, reaching up with her other hand to stroke lightly over her breasts. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you like watching me like this, Alphinaud?” she asked, her voice unsteady, and Alphinaud nodded, gasping as he stroked himself harder, running his thumb over the head of his cock. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Twelve above, <em> yes, </em>” he hissed, fisting his cock even faster. “You’re the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen in my life!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tetri groaned, and he watched as she moved her hand faster between her legs, inserting two fingers into herself, stroking the nub right above her entrance with her thumb. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, Alphinaud!” she cried, rocking her hips upwards so her fingers reached even deeper inside her, enjoying how her best friend watched her movements with hooded eyes, his face and neck flushed red. He continued to stroke his length quickly, trying to match her own movements. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Slow down, please,” she said. “I want to keep watching you.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud gritted his teeth, slowing his strokes reluctantly, fisting his other hand through his hair and arching his back as he tried to obey her request. His plaited queue was becoming slowly undone, his hair messy and drifting over his neck and forehead.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ahhh--I’m sorry, Tetri, it’s just--you’re driving me mad!” he said in a sigh, unable to keep from stroking his length. The two Scions groaned, working themselves up steadily towards mutual climax. Tetri shuddered as she ran her thumb hard over her clit. She stared into the azure depths of Alphinaud’s eyes, which seemed to glimmer under the false radiance in the sky above them. He was painfully handsome to her, beautiful, even, and she fought the urge to mount him then and there. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sweet Halone,” she gasped. “You’re so fucking sexy, Alphinaud, did you know that? I can’t believe you’ve been keeping yourself from me, for so long!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She uttered a low growl as her control over her dragon soul was steadily worn thin, her climax further in reach. Alphinaud watched, enraptured, as small tendrils of blue dragonfire began crawling over her skin. In the back of his mind, against the haze of pleasure suffusing him, he dimly remembered reading about the history of dragoons back in Ishgard, about how the blood of the dragon could change one’s soul, suffusing it with a dragon’s partial nature as they availed themselves of draconian power over time. The abject display of her magic, that dangerous strength simmering just beneath her skin, just made him want her all the more. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, Tetri, I’ve always been yours,” he murmured, his voice full of longing, running the hand in his hair down over his chest, imagining it was her hands on him, instead. “I would have given myself to you completely, if you had only asked me!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tetri growled louder in response to his words, and abruptly yanked her hand from between her legs, sitting up on her knees. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Stop stroking yourself,” she ordered firmly, and he muttered a groan of disappointment, but took his hand away. The Miqo’te and Elezen stared at each other, flushed and panting, sitting ilms away from each other on the bedroll. Tetri grinned at him, leaning forward and offering him her hand, her fingers still wet with her arousal. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You can taste me, if you want,” she said, her voice tinged with mischief. Then it was Alphinaud’s turn to groan at his good fortune, leaning forward and taking her fingers in his mouth, swirling his tongue around them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tetri let out a low groan as she was treated to the delicious sight of Alphinaud licking the juices from her fingers like a man half-starved. He moaned as her heavenly taste filled his senses, unaccustomed to such richness on his tongue. Tetri grinned as the Elezen's cheeks flushed, finally drawing his lips away from her hand, panting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What a good boy you are," she said, praising him and stroking his cheek, and he nuzzled into her palm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yours," he said, looking at her with adoration in his gaze, and she swore, an ache of possession swirling through her at his words. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yes, you're <em> mine</em>," she agreed, letting out a draconic growl. "All mine." The dragoon Miqo'te then sighed and took his hand, stroking his palm gently. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I must admit," she said, "the mere idea of someone else touching you, having you for the first time, instead of me--I don't like that idea at all, Alphinaud."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud smiled back at her, his azure eyes glittering like sapphires beneath his ivory locks of hair. He was so beautiful that Tetri's heart ached to look at him, yet she lacked the ability to look away from him even for a moment. He had spellbound her, casting some hitherto unknown incantation of longing that she was powerless to resist, even as the Warrior of Light. Hydaelyn's blessing didn't work on infatuation, or against falling in love. To the affections of a Scion, Tetri was powerless, and she was alright with that. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I just want you, Tetri," he replied quietly, leaning into her palm on his cheek. "You're the only one I want. I'm not interested in anyone else. I'm open to whatever you want to do--or if you don't want to, that's fine too. It would be enough for me just to be near you, just to be at your side again. I'd be alright with this as my only memory of--of this kind of closeness, with you, if that's all you can give."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He gripped her hand, as if to reassure her, and Tetri felt that ache again in her heart at the emotional maturity of his words. Alphinaud was so wise beyond his years, sometimes, that it was difficult for her to believe he and his twin sister were only twenty.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Alphinaud..." she trailed off, her throat suddenly tight with a combination of emotions she wasn't ready to deal with. Still, she owed her best friend a response. She cleared her throat, then continued.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Tell me what you want, right now, Alphinaud--<em>exactly </em> what you want--and I'll tell you if I'm willing to give it," she said finally, and stroked his palm gently. He took a deep breath, shuddering, and she saw tears gathering in his eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I--I want you to--m-make love to me," said Alphinaud, unable to keep his voice from shaking. Tetri gripped his hand tighter in hers, as she saw her Elezen friend weep with emotion before her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You're the only person I've ever wanted, Tetri," he gasped out, "the only one I've ever yearned for! I've dreamed of being this close to you, for years. I want my first time to be with my best friend, someone I truly care about. So, would--would you please be my first?"  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The overprotective part of Tetri's mind panicked at hearing Alphinaud's heartfelt plea. She felt her ears twitch with anxiety. On the one hand, she wanted him back, nearly as badly as he wanted her, though she had buried and compartmentalized her feelings for him (and Alisaie, and the rest of the Scions) so completely, for so long, that unpacking that same yearning was causing her to feel just a bit insane. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> We shouldn't, </em> she thought. <em> I shouldn't. I shouldn't love him, any of them! I could get them killed--just like the others. Just like Haurchefaunt... </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> They are Scions, </em> whispered her dragon soul, the part of her merged in her dragon soulstone, in counter to her hesitation. <em> They are warriors and heroes of their own. Not Warriors of Light, but heroes all the same, who've accepted the burden that is the cost of battle. To give their lives is their choice, not ours. And to give and receive love in turn, is our choice to make, as well. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tetri resisted the urge to snarl in frustration, unable to find a sensible argument against the logic of her draconian nature. She was also unable to find a reason not to give in to her feelings, both of lust and love, for her fellow Scion before her. Alphinaud was still holding her hand, his cheeks wet with his tears, looking at her with awe in his azure gaze like she was the answer to his prayers. Looking back at him, the Miqo'te felt herself teetering on the edge of that joyous madness, that only arises with being in love. It terrified her more than the sin eaters, more than any vile creature of the world or void, for she could not fight love, nor defend against its possible loss. Not an onze of her fear was enough to vanquish her love, however; she felt it swell in her heart, instead, a tide of longing that demanded she answer Alphinaud's question. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes,” she whispered, compelled to honesty. “I will be your first, Alphinaud, if that’s what you truly want. I want you, too.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud trembled all over at her words, choking back another sob, and raised her hand to his lips to press a kiss against her fingers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ve never wanted anything else so badly,” he whispered back, feeling both excited and terrified at the prospect of making love with the Warrior of Light. Tetri smiled at him, taking her hand from his. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Can I kiss you, Alphinaud?” she asked, and at his nod she leaned forward, closing the distance between them and finally taking his lips with her own. Her lips were soft and plush, and he eagerly kissed her back, making up for his lack of experience with obvious enthusiasm. She brushed her tongue against his lips, and he opened his mouth to her, moaning as their tongues twined together. They kissed for what seemed like hours, savoring each other, before finally breaking away to gasp for air. Tetri stared at him, panting, her face twisted in want, before laying backwards against the bedroll, parting her legs. She reached out to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Come here, dear heart,” she whispered, and Alphinaud felt his heart skip a beat at her tender endearment. He shuffled forward until he was kneeling between her legs, his cock still rock hard against his stomach. He hovered over her, feeling awkward and incredibly nervous. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I--I don’t know what to do,” he said, feeling his face flush with embarrassment. Tetri shushed him, stroking his cheek gently. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know you don’t, and I don’t expect you to,” she said, trying to reassure him. “Are you nervous, Alphinaud?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Extremely,” he replied, hating how his voice shook. He leaned into her palm, finding her presence comforting. The Elezen felt himself be pulled deeper under the tide of love he felt for his best friend, wanting to kiss her body, to run his hands and lips over her skin. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s normal,” she said. “I’ll take care of you, Alphinaud. You can’t fail at this, you can’t do this wrong. It’s just being together, sharing pleasure. I want to be with you, just like this, and I’ll show you everything you want. We can stop anytime you say so. Will you let me take care of you?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes,” he said, his voice thick with reverence. “Show me how to love you, Tetri. Guide me, please!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tetri nodded, her long ears twitching, then she moved forward underneath him, until they were mere ilms apart. She reached down, taking him in hand, and he hissed at the feeling of her warm fingers around him. She pulled him forward gently, until he had to lean down over her, his hands holding him upwards, and he jolted as she brushed the head of his length against her entrance. She rocked her hips up against him, so that he slid inside of her just an ilm, and was rewarded as Alphinaud uttered a loud gasp at the movement, his body tensing over hers. The Warrior of Light stilled beneath him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Are you alright?” she asked quietly, and watched as Alphinaud nodded, breathing harshly. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Y-yes,” said the Elezen, “it’s just--overwhelming…” He felt his face blush at his current lack of eloquence, but Tetri just smiled at him, reaching up to run a hand over his cheek. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s alright, take it slow,” she said, and Alphinaud nodded, feeling his instincts taking over. He made another cautious thrust forward with his hips, sinking deeper into her wet, tight heat, groaning as pleasure threatened to completely overwhelm his senses. Tetri sighed at his movements, enjoying the sensation of being filled. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a lover, after losing Haurchefaunt. That is, if she wasn’t counting the adorable Miqo’te barmaid in Hingashi whom she had helped through her heat while traveling in the East seven months ago, in the course of liberating Doma. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It had been during a rare respite from travel, and she could still count on one hand the number of times a female Miqo’te had asked her to share a heat. Despite the ubiquity of biology, it had just been rare for her to be propositioned by another female of her kind (and she tended to avoid Miqo’te men on matter of principle, another casualty of growing up under the narcissism of a selfish Nuhn). Frankly, Tetri had been flattered, being essentially an unknown in the East, unlike the fame of her title in Eorzea. The barmaid had been eager, easy to please considering her physical state, and Tetri had enjoyed the experience, but she had known then, as she did now, that it wasn’t love, not like what she felt for the young man above her and moving slowly inside her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud and Alisaie had been with her from the beginning, growing with her as she grew into her own power as the Warrior of Light. Inadvertently, they had helped her shoulder the great burden of being Hydaelyn’s chosen, and Tetri had felt herself grow closer to the Leveilleur twins, feeling confused and then guilt-ridden as her feelings of appreciation and pride had morphed into love for them. Tetri sighed as Alphinaud moved into her again, and she wrapped her arms and legs about him, running her tail over his lower back, feeling him shiver in her arms. Impatient, she pulled him down with her dragoon’s strength, pressing his shorter body completely into her as he buried himself to the hilt inside her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Ah!  </em>Tetri…” Alphinaud sighed at the heavenly feeling of her body tightening around his, jolting as the Miqo’te reached up to kiss him softly on the mouth. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“There we are,” she said against his lips. “How does that feel, Alphinaud?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, Twelve, it’s--you’re incredible,” he managed to stutter out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Good, I’m glad,” she replied. “You feel amazing like this!” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Warrior of Light started to pant as she rocked her hips up against his, and the two Scions groaned together in abandon. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud’s clever mind whirled as his body was rocked by pleasure. There were no mage’s formulae, no magical theory, that could possibly encapsulate how perfect it felt to be united with her in this manner. He felt unmoored by the intensity of the moment, feeling like he could break apart with each movement of his hips into hers, with every ilm of his length buried inside of her, sending sparks of ecstasy up his spine. He struggled to regain control, gasping into the air, feeling himself on the edge of orgasm already. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Ahhh </em>-Tetri, I’m sorry, I can’t--” he managed to say, then leaned down and buried his face into her neck, groaning, sounding desperate and wrecked. Tetri stroked his sweaty hair back from his forehead, her other hand running down his back in a calming manner.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Shhh, it’s alright, Alphinaud,” she crooned into his ear. “I’ve got you. It’s okay. You can let go, and I’ll catch you.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Miqo’te felt him shudder against her, moaning against her neck, and the warmth of his breath made her arch into him, tightening her hips around his. She gasped as he made a particularly hard thrust into her, moaning at the satisfaction of being filled by him. To think, they could have been doing this for years, instead of whatever tapdance of denial they had been doing. Well, that, and saving the world, but that hadn’t stopped them from doing insane things before.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, I--<em>uhnnn </em>--I wanted to please you…!” Alphinaud choked out as he continued to thrust erratically into her tight heat, gasping as he was brought closer to his peak, clinging to control. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What--<em>ahhh! </em> --makes you--<em>hahhh! </em>--think you’re not pleasing me?!” she replied back in between grunts and sighs of pleasure, unable to keep herself from rocking her hips back to his and meeting him, thrust for thrust. Their skin was slicked with sweat, and the smell of sex was heavy in the air, the campsite filled with the lewd sounds of their joining. The two Scions continued rutting against each other in wild abandon, the Miqo’te and Elezen each competing to bring the other to their peak first. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud leaned down, burying his face in her neck, licking the sensitive skin there, groaning as she whined and clutched him tighter, enjoying the feel of her slick heat tightening around him further. Encouraged by her reaction, the Elezen stroked a hand up her body as he thrust into her, cupping her breasts, stroking a thumb over her nipple, watching as Tetri gasped and arched into his touch, her face flushing a deeper red, her slit pupils blown wide with lust. He laved her nipples with his tongue, nipping her gently with his teeth as he caressed her, and grinned against her skin as she swore. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Ah </em>--damn--yes, Alphinaud, yes!” cried the Warrior of Light. “That’s it, give it to me!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud groaned in reply, his lips still closed about her nipple, and suckled her harder while increasing his thrusts, still trying to stave off his orgasm. Tetri hissed at the feel of his hot mouth on her, her tail flailing against his back like a whip. Two could play at this game! With a wicked grin, she leaned down to take the entire tip of his pointed ear into her mouth, grasping him harder against her as his entire body jolted from the stimulation. Alphinaud released her from his mouth, gasping harshly, arching his back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh--oh, Tetri, <em> fuck! </em>” He moaned, shuddering and sighing as she ran her tongue along the delicate shell of his sensitive ear. Tetri held back a smirk, glad to have finally broken her best friend’s normally polite composure as she continued her sweet torture; as she had learned from Ser Estinien and Lord Aymeric, Elezen ears were incredibly sensitive. She had never even heard Alphinaud swear, though she had always known he had the capability to do so, much like she had known on some level he had the ability to keep up with her in bed, even despite his lack of experience. Tetri was pleased his ability to learn quickly on the battlefield adapted well to lovemaking, though she wasn’t surprised. Alphinaud’s clever mind and talented fingers had always appealed to her, and now she also knew the aspiring diplomat’s mouth was good for more than just targeted conversation with enemies and allies, if the pleasure of his lips on her body was any indication. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tetri wanted to explore that further, feeling her slick folds tighten around his length as she pondered teaching the young Elezen how to orally pleasure a woman, but that would have to wait until later. She could feel the tension in Alphinaud’s muscles, his entire body arched against hers as he attempted to hold back from his climax. She was surprised he had held out this long during his first time, though she knew Alphinaud had always been tenacious, never one to give up easily on anything. Tetri stroked her hands down his back, clutching his ass, and he gasped another oath above her as his rhythm began to falter. She leaned upwards, coaxing his mouth open and kissing him hard, swallowing his moans, running her hands up his back and into his hair, scratching his scalp lightly. She took her mouth from his, gasping against his lips. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Alphinaud, you can come now,” she whispered against his lips. “Just let go, and I’ll be here to catch you. I want to watch you come inside me. Do you want to come?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud shuddered, choking back a sob. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Y-yes, Tetri--gods, <em> yes, </em> I want to…!” he managed to gasp out, his eyes closed and face twisted in pleasure. He opened his eyes, feeling his cheeks flush as he stared down at his Miqo’te lover beneath him. She smiled up at him, her long ears twitching. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I want to watch you come, Alphinaud,” said Tetri, stroking his face before running her hands down his chest, stroking her thumbs across his nipples in a copy of his earlier actions on her body. He jolted at her touch, and she uttered a pleased growl low in her throat, sounding more like a dragon than a Miqo’te. She pinched his nipples, hissing as he gasped at the intense stimulation.  His entire body tensed as he felt her inner walls flutter around him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, oh fuck, Tetri, I’m--I can’t--!” he said, feeling his orgasm approaching. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, Alphinaud!” she said, clutching him tightly, rocking her hips up into him, kissing his neck. “That’s it, come on! Let me see you!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud arched his back, closing his eyes tightly and groaning loudly as he gave one final thrust of his hips and tumbled into the ecstasy of his climax, feeling himself release inside of her, pleasure suffusing his entire being as he shook above the Warrior of Light. Lost as he was, he missed Tetri’s look of rapt wonder as she watched her best friend reach the height of his pleasure above her. For a few moments he felt weightless, as if he was soaring above the clouds, then he was abruptly pulled back down to earth, gasping as he collapsed into Tetri’s arms. The Miqo’te held him gently while he shuddered from the aftershocks of his climax, stroking the hair back from his face where he rested his cheek against her bosom, pressing a tender kiss to his forehead. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, Alphinaud raised his head, still breathing hard, and regarded her with a look of bewildered gratitude, his blue eyes shimmering.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hello there,” she said, smiling, and blinked as her friend leaned up to press a kiss against her lips. She hummed into the kiss, her lips parting as Alphinaud licked her mouth open, sighing. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I love you," he whispered into her mouth like a prayer, and she sighed back, a high-pitched, needy sound, as if granting him the absolution he wanted. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud pulled away from her, looking into her eyes, reaching up a hand and running his fingers gently down her cheek.  Tetri felt tears burning at the corner of her eyes, cursing her own cowardice; she wanted to tell him those same words, she longed to return his feelings, for she felt the same! Yet how could she, when loving her was practically a curse? Shame welled up in her heart as she looked away from him. Though their bodies were still physically intertwined, the Miqo’te felt herself reeling from the intimacy of the moment, the love she felt for Alphinaud threatening to crumble all the emotional walls around herself that she had carefully constructed for years.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Am I truly this weak, </em> she thought, <em> to take my friend as my lover, and be unable to call him by the same? To love him with my body, but have my words fail me?! </em> It was pathetic; she was pathetic! Tetri choked back the urge to cry, as she was overcome by a wave of self-loathing.   </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tetri,” he whispered, turning her face towards his once again. She took a breath, breathing harshly through her nose, and Alphinaud wiped her tears away with gentle fingers as they coursed down her cheeks. Tetri looked into his blue eyes, not sure what she was expecting to find, but felt the balm of relief fill her heart as she saw the Elezen regarding her with nothing but compassion and understanding.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know how you feel about me,” said Alphinaud quietly. “I know that you care for me, that you <em> love </em> me, Tetri. You wouldn’t have shared this experience with me if you didn’t. You wouldn’t have reached for me, you wouldn’t have said yes to my request. You wouldn’t have kissed me, you wouldn’t have held me in your arms and shown me how to love you with my body, like I love you with my heart. Like I’ve loved you with <em> everything </em> that I am, for years. You didn’t have to, but you did. So--you don’t have to tell me anything, alright?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tetri trembled at the perceptiveness of her lover’s words. He knew her too well; of course, he would see through her completely, and know just what to say to put her heart at ease. He always did. She found herself glad of it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Alphinaud…” she whispered, and pulled him against her, burying her face in the side of his neck, crying softly against his skin, only now she was smiling, grateful for the opportunity to finally be able to love him as she had longed to for so long, regardless of her ability to say so aloud. He wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling against the nape of her neck, and he laughed softly as he heard--and felt--a growl of contentment rumble through her. The Elezen knew she was feeling more comfortable with him, if she was this relaxed about releasing the instincts of her dragon soul out in the open. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m all yours, Warrior Dragon of Light,” he murmured, and Tetri growled louder at his endearment, pulling him even tighter against her, her tail writhing down his back, causing him to twitch as it tickled. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, Alphinaud, you’re all mine,” she said, and Alphinaud looked up at her. She smiled at him, her ruby eyes gleaming, and he startled against her body as blue flames arose from the surface of her skin, surrounding them both in a cerulean blaze. Alphinaud looked around them in wonder as the heat of her dragonfire tingled on his skin, but did not burn. Far from terrifying, the blue flames were comforting, protective, a wall of magical elemental power, and through the fire he could see the scales of spirit dragons dancing and writhing in midair. It was power, the power of her dragon’s blood that was always simmering at the ready beneath her skin, waiting for the dragoon to call it forth. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It won’t burn you,” the Miqo’te whispered, “you or anyone else under my protection. You have nothing to fear.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alphinaud chuckled, smiling down at her fondly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know,” he replied. “Of that I had no doubt, my Warrior of Light.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>With that, he leaned back down to claim her lips once more with his, and at his kiss, Tetri let her flames dissipate, her claim on his heart now assured. The Elezen and Miqo’te lost themselves in each other for a time, and Alphinaud soon grew to wanting her again, having recovered from their previous session. This time, they slowed their pace, savoring each other, and Tetri showed Alphinaud how to bring her to her peak, which he did with his typical absolute focus. The campsite was soon filled once more with their shared cries of pleasure. Eventually, after one more bout of lovemaking (aided by Alphinaud’s generous use of Physick, to replenish their bodies of vital aether), they fell into a deep slumber on top of the bedroll, wrapped in each other’s arms, with Alphinaud’s trusty moonstone carbuncle keeping watch all the while.          </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Later that day, when they'd entered the lower levels of Eulmore and were bidden by the court jester women to shower, Tetri considered pulling Alphinaud in with her. She decided against it because it would be too conspicuous, and because of Alphinaud's shyness with public bathing, despite their no-less-public activities in camp. Still, she gave the young Elezen mage one last look of smouldering lust before closing the shower curtain behind her, smirking at Alphinaud's grimace of pure frustration. She'd just have to make it up to him later.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When Alphinaud introduced her to Mrs. Chai-Nuzz as his assistant, describing her as his inspiration, Tetri allowed herself a break in her tense demeanor, to smile at him in genuine fondness. For just as she was his inspiration, he was hers, as well.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Alisaie: The Red Mage’s Regard (Amh Araeng)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The long-awaited second chapter is now complete! A big thanks to everyone who's read, commented, or liked this story so far, your support makes this story possible. I hope you enjoy it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After Tesleen was turned, Tetri waited to reach out until she heard Alisaie weeping alone in her tent. It was far enough away from everyone else at the Inn to be somewhat private, though it was necessary to stay within the perimeter of the camp anyway, in case of stray sin eaters seeking a meal of easy pickings. She knew it was coming, could see it in the Elezen woman’s azure eyes, the same shade of sky-blue as her twin, and she knew Alisaie had been valiantly holding in her tears until after dropping off the boy with other caretakers. Tetri was old friends with the bastard emotion of grief, though, and she understood how it crested over the mind and heart in waves, not needing a timetable or schedule to make itself known, to erupt out in tears or screams. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s not that Tetri wanted to intrude, truly she didn’t; she only wanted to help, if she could. She’d known Alisaie for less time than her brother, been through less with Alisaie than she had with Alphinaud. And yet they fought in the Ghimlyt Dark together, fought for the freedom of Doma and Ala Mhigo as a team, for over a year, and thus the Miqo’te still felt close enough to Alisaie to want to comfort her. Tetri wasn’t sure if Alisaie wanted that right now; gods know she didn’t want anyone to touch her, or even come near her, after losing Haurchefaunt, after losing Estinien to the rogue dragon soul inside him. Losing two lovers at once had stung Tetri raw with the pain of fresh grief, as the price of her duty had stolen yet more happiness from her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>No matter that her fling with Estinien had been mutually no-strings-attached, for loss was loss, and it always hurt, it just ached less with time. The first time she embraced Estinien was to help with her heat fever whilst stuck in the wilderness together, and then once more, after Haurchefaunt had declared his interest in formally courting her, perhaps to win her heart back from the Ishgardian knight. She had admitted to herself at that time that it was true: as the Azure Dragoon, Estinien understood her better than most. Being a dragoon was all she knew, and no one had forced her into that path, for she had chosen it, first as a lancer, then as a dragoon in the frozen snows of Coerthas. The path of battle made sense to Tetri in a way that submitting to a Nuhn didn’t, even in a way that being Hydaelyn’s daughter didn’t, for the path of a dragoon demanded only blood at the tip of her lance, not the surrender of her body, or the risk of losing loved ones. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The tall, distant Elezen had been cognizant of the burden of a dragoon soulstone that was carrying a dragon soul, and all it entailed: the cravings, the rage, the everpresent lust. Tetri had been willing to lose herself in Estinien, to let him take her apart with his lips, his hands, that coiled strength, and the passion of dragonflame that simmered always beneath his skin, just as it did hers. She had lost him to that fire, his soul stolen by Nidhogg’s eternal anger. By the power of her own dragonfire, she had won him back, but at the cost of losing the other man she loved. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri sighed, shaking her head in an effort to clear her mind of dark musings, her ears twitching against her hair. Being sad or hearing someone else being sad brought all of this out of her, the echo of mourning. She turned her attention instead to her lance, which she had finished cleaning with an oily rag. The bronze metal of Liberator fairly gleamed underneath the light of the Flood, even in the cliffside shade of the Inn, and the last touches remained to be done. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri dropped the rag, and bent to pick up the whetstone she used to sharpen the tip of the lance, when she heard a stuttering wail from within Alisaie’s tent. Tetri swallowed, her mouth dry, and her hands tightened on the handle of her lance. She wanted to go to her, but wasn’t sure if she should. Then she heard more wailing, steadily climbing in volume, as if her friend could no longer control her cries, and Tetri grimaced in determination. She laid her lance flat against the nearby cliff wall, her armor kit having already been removed and carefully placed in a pile there. Tetri then walked carefully to the entrance of Alisaie’s tent, pausing a moment before bending down and rapping her knuckles sharply against the tent flaps. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alisaie?” she called, trying to keep her voice down, not wanting to startle her friend, or making it seem like she was seeking to intrude. She heard rustling in the tent, then Alisaie spoke.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah?” she said, and Tetri felt a pang of sympathy at the croak in Alisaie’s voice, raw from crying. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m just checking on you,” said Tetri, “just to make sure that you’re okay. I wanted to let you know that I’m here if you need anything. You don’t have to be alone right now, not if you don’t want to. I’ll be nearby.” The Miqo’te swallowed and nodded to herself, having reached out as much as she could to Alisaie without her input. She stood up to go back to sharpening her spear.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait,” said Alisaie, in barely more than a whisper, but Tetri could hear it, her long ears twitching with worry for her friend. She stood awkwardly outside the tent, waiting, her tail thrashing behind her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I--I don’t want to be alone,” said Alisaie, her voice breaking, and Tetri let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m coming in now, Alisaie, is that alright?” said Tetri, bending down and pausing at the tent flap, giving her friend one more chance to back out. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, please…” she replied softly, and Tetri squared her shoulders, stooping down and crawling into Alisaie’s tent. It took her a few moments to adjust to the darkness, the thick canvas having been designed to block out even the light of the Flood. She crawled forward slightly from the entrance of the tent, kicking off her boots as she did so, and looked about. Alisaie was bundled up in a heap of blankets and bedrolls, hair messy and unkempt about her face, and her cheeks were red and blotchy, her beautiful sky-blue eyes bloodshot from crying. She was stuttering with every breath, as if that little movement cost her so much. Tetri’s heart ached at the sight, and she felt tears burn in her own eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I will destroy the sin eaters,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought, rage curdling in her gut as she remembered the cause for Alisaie’s grief, remembered Tesleen’s scream of agony as she had been forcibly turned. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Every last one. I will end the blight of the Flood on this world. We will destroy them all!</span>
  </em>
  <span> In her mind, her dragon soul snarled in agreement, encouraged by her righteous fury. Tetri pushed down her rage for the time being; there would always be time to fight her battles later. Right now, Alisaie needed her. The Miqo’te looked at her friend.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m here,” she said softly, wanting Alisaie to choose what she wanted from her. She smiled lightly as Alisaie looked at her, the Elezen taking a deep breath, as if surprised Tetri was sitting in her tent before her. Alisaie huffed and wiped her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Gods, I must look a sight,” she said, laughing without humor. “I’m sorry I’m such a mess right now, Tetri--”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, now, none of that, please,” said Tetri, interrupting her. “You have nothing to be sorry about, so please, don’t apologize. I just want to be here for you right now.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie stared at the Warrior of Light, before nodding, her gaze trailing off to the side, and Tetri felt another pang of sorrow as she recognized that blank look, as Alisaie revisited the moment of loss in her mind. That would not do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alisaie,” said Tetri, and the Elezen jolted upwards, staring at the Miqo’te with wide eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to keep going back there,” she said, and Tetri moved closer to Alisaie, climbing over a pile of blankets until she was sitting next to her friend. She put a hand gently on Alisaie’s knee, and felt Alisaie startle slightly, but she did not move away. Tetri found that an encouraging sign, and stroked Alisaie’s knee gently with a thumb. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s over, now,” she said, “and it </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurts,</span>
  </em>
  <span> I know it does. I understand how much it hurts, Alisaie, how much it aches in your heart, to lose someone you love.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri swallowed, remembering the agony of her own loss, but she pushed it aside, meeting Alisaie’s gaze, willing herself to get through to her friend. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And I’d never tell you not to feel those things,” she continued, “or how to feel them, or when you should stop feeling this way. But you don’t have to keep revisiting that moment, in your mind, wondering how you could have done something different, because that will make things worse, not better. That is something you can choose to do differently. Do you understand what I’m saying?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I--” Alisaie coughed, clearing her throat before continuing. “Yes, I think I do,” she said. Alisaie finally moved then, reaching out from underneath her bedroll to place a hand over Tetri’s where it rested on her knee. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tetri…” Alisaie began, hesitating, looking away before looking back up at the Miqo’te before her. She took the time to regard the Warrior of Light, and Alisaie felt her heart ache anew, for she had loved Tetri for years. At first, it had just been a crush, a deep admiration for the purple-haired Miqo’te’s prowess in battle and the excitement Alisaie had felt to wield her sword alongside her. The righteousness of their cause had only encouraged Alisaie to fight harder, to get stronger as a Red Mage alongside her friend, both to keep up with her, and perhaps to win Tetri’s heart along with her respect. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That hadn’t happened, of course. Alisaie had recognized Tetri’s habit of keeping her friends at arm’s length, preferring her solitude and silence to commiserating with Alisaie and the rest of the Scions. It had bothered her, back in Doma, and when she asked herself why, she had realized her deeper feelings for the dragoon. She had pushed down those feelings, for after all, Tetri was Hydaelyn’s chosen, and she had a heavy burden on her shoulders at all times. Alisaie didn’t feel like she could add to that burden further in good conscience. Plus, they were friends and comrades, Scions, and she didn’t want to ruin their friendship or make things awkward between them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s just a crush,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Alisaie had told herself, chalking up her feelings to the whimsy of her own youth. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It will fade, with time.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And yet, it had not, for the passage of time had only made her yearning for Tetri stronger. Then she had been torn from Tetri’s side on the eve of battle, the Exarch’s magicks whisking her soul away across the barren Rift to the world of the First, and in the year since she had meet Tesleen. The young Hyur woman had been instantly taken by Alisaie, showering her with affection and then, later, confessing her own feelings to her in private, once Alisaie had taken up temporary residence in Ahm Araeng. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tesleen had been the same age as Alisaie, nineteen summers going on twenty, with long, strawberry-blonde locks, full lips, gentle curves, and a bright smile that could light up a room. Alisaie had found plenty to adore in her friend, and together they had taken the tentative steps of becoming lovers. Both women had been each other’s firsts, and they had fumbled and caressed each other with hands and lips, bodies intertwined, in Alisaie’s tent. Underneath Tesleen’s taller body, or in between her thighs, Alisaie had been able to forget about Tetri, for a time, for the Warrior of Light had been a world away. Tesleen had been real, and warm, and wet against Alisaie’s tongue and fingers, and the Hyur’s sighs of pleasure were the sweetest music to her ears. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Being Tesleen’s lover had brought Alisaie enough joy that she felt she could shoulder the burden of putting the First to rights, slaying as many sin eaters in the desert as she could, with or without Tetri. Deep down, she had known she would see the Warrior of Light again, but she finally had her own duty in the First, then, apart from Tetri, and Alisaie had felt a surge of confidence. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I can be my own woman now, Tetri,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she had thought, as she had slain sin eaters with her sword during the day, and warmed Tesleen’s bedroll at what passed for night. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t need you. I can let you go, I can let my love for you go. After all, I have Tesleen.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But Tesleen was gone, now. Gone, </span>
  <em>
    <span>turned.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Turned into a </span>
  <em>
    <span>sin eater.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Just the thought made Alisaie’s gut curdle with rage and sorrow, making her want to retch. It was the greatest insult to a woman who had worked tirelessly to ease the passing of others who had been afflicted with the same fate, suffering the agony she had absolved others of. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>right!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Her lover was </span>
  <em>
    <span>gone,</span>
  </em>
  <span> suffering a fate worse than death! </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie felt tears burn in her eyes, then, and felt them fall against her cheeks. She didn’t bother wiping them away. She looked at Tetri, who was real and sitting before her, long purple tail curled in her lap, looking at her with sympathy in her ruby eyes, and Alisaie felt a surge of gratitude for her friend.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I loved her, Tetri,” she said softly, and watched as Tetri’s eyes widened at this revelation. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Alisaie…” said the Miqo’te, and the hand on her knee tightened. “Gods, I’m so sorry…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We--we were--together,” she continued, hating the stuttering in her voice but now unable to stop the torrent of words flowing from her lips. “For over a year. At first, we were just friends, but then Tesleen told me she loved me, and I wanted to--to know what that was like. I had started to fall in love with her, for real, and it had felt like--like we could have had some sort of future together. And--and now--”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie couldn’t speak anymore, though, her breath hitching at the thought of how she had lost Tesleen, and then she was weeping again, wailing, and couldn’t stop. She jumped a bit as she felt Tetri move forward and enclose her in her strong arms, the Miqo’te guiding her to rest her head against her shoulder as one hand stroked her back gently, and the other threading itself through her hair, holding her as she cried.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shhhh, it’s alright, Alisaie,” said Tetri, rocking her back and forth in a soothing motion, and Alisaie allowed herself to gradually relax as she wept against the Warrior of Light’s shoulder, her tears soaking into the Miqo’te’s blouse. If Tetri was annoyed she paid it no heed, and when Alisaie’s breathing had slowed and she moved to place some space between them, Tetri tightened her arms around her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She loved you, Alisaie,” she said softly, murmuring into Alisaie’s hair, running a hand down her queue. “I know she did. I could see how she looked at you. It was horrible what happened to Tesleen, but I know you made her happier than anyone else could have. No matter what she is, now, that’s the woman we’ll avenge, the woman we’ll fight for, to free the First from the scourge of the sin eaters. I’m so sorry for your loss, but I’m so proud of what you’ve done here, while I’ve been away.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She moved backwards a bit, and touched a finger to Alisaie’s chin, raising her head, so that Alisaie was now staring into the ruby depths of Tetri’s eyes. Alisaie stared as Tetri’s slitted pupils dilated slightly in the dark of the tent. Though her purple-and-white hair was lighter than most, Alisaie could tell that Tetri was every bit a Seeker of the Sun Miqo’te where it counted, and the eyes didn’t lie. Alisaie took a sharp breath as Tetri moved her hand from her chin to cup her cheek lightly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so proud of you, Alisaie,” said the Warrior of Light softly. “I’m proud of the woman you’re becoming. You’re a fine Red Mage, a powerful warrior, and you’d make Tesleen proud, as well. I know you’ll honor her memory, and always cherish the love you had together. It will always hurt, inside, to remember her, but I promise you, that burden will become easier to bear, in time.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie nodded, sniffling, enjoying her close proximity to the first woman she had ever loved, and leaned further into her Warrior’s palm. Although the Miqo’te was only five summers her senior, Alisaie could only imagine how much pain Tetri had suffered in her life, thus far, to talk so wisely and easily about the agony of grief. She trembled, wondering if she would ever be able to get as close to Tetri again as she was at this moment, with their bodies practically intertwined. Tetri’s other arm was still curled about her back, stroking along her spine, and Alisaie could feel her long tail brushing against the back of her thighs where she sat awkwardly in the Miqote’s lap, her tail tip brushing the edges of Alisaie’s skirt. A frisson of desire curled low in her abdomen, and Alisaie felt her cheeks flush as she felt herself growing wet between her legs. Warring between her fear and desire, the Elezen resigned herself to her wanting, giving herself over, for her greatest fear had already happened. Tesleen was gone, but in the midst of that agony of loss, Tetri was here, beside her, holding Alisaie in her arms, caressing her cheek, and Alisaie could no longer help her sheer yearning for the woman before her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In an act of pure impulse, Alisaie turned her head into Tetri’s palm, placing a kiss there. She smiled as she heard Tetri gasp in surprise at the contact, and kissed the warm skin of her palm again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“A--Alisaie,” Tetri murmured, and Alisaie gathered her courage, turning her cheek back into the Miqo’te’s palm to look at her. Alisaie thought she could see a light blush on Tetri’s cheeks, though perhaps it was just her imagination. She heard Tetri swallow, breathing harshly through her nose, as if readying herself to deliver a blow, and Alisaie sighed, half in desire and half in frustration.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If this is the part where you tell me that you’re not her, and that I shouldn’t want you, don’t bother, Tetri,” she said. Tetri flinched at her words, and started to take her hand away, but Alisaie reached up with her quick Red Mage’s reflexes and held the Warrior of Light’s hand fast to her cheek, not allowing her to pull away entirely. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alisaie, you shouldn’t--” Tetri began, shaking her head, her ears back against her head in anxiety, but Alisaie was having none of it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, Tetri, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> listen to me, now,” she said. “You don’t get to run away from this, not this time, not when I’ve been forced to deal with it every day and night. You don’t get to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do, what I should and shouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel! </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’ve been in love with you for years, Tetri! I loved you before I got here, before Tesleen! </span>
  <em>
    <span>I love you!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie stared into Tetri’s wide eyes, unblinking, and boldly placed her other hand directly over Tetri’s heart. The other woman gasped at the contact, as if Alisaie’s touch had scalded her, and the Elezen could feel Tetri’s heart racing underneath her fingertips. Alisaie leaned forward, until she was mere ilms from Tetri’s face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know I shouldn’t have ever fallen in love with you,” she whispered, and Tetri trembled beneath her palm. “I know I shouldn’t have fallen for the Warrior of Light, or burdened you with my feelings. I know all of that, but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> fight it anymore, Tetri! I can’t, and I don’t want to!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then Alisaie closed the distance between them, and met Tetri’s lips with her own. Tetri’s lips were warm and soft, and Alisaie paused, resting her lips against her friend’s. Tetri was still as stone, her lips unmoving against hers, and Alisaie felt shame building in her gut, the sting of humiliation making her feel like she had just made the gravest mistake of her young life. She began to pull away when she felt the Miqo’te groan low in her throat, almost a growl, not unlike that of a dragon. Then she felt the dragoon’s strong arms close about her, gripping her firmly with strong fingers and pulling Alisaie even closer against her, and then Tetri’s mouth was moving against hers, kissing her back fiercely like her life depended on it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie moaned at the heat of their shared kiss, opening her mouth, and Tetri deepened the kiss, licking into her mouth and stroking the Elezen’s tongue with her own. Alisaie moaned again as Tetri dragged her fingers upwards, tangling through Alisaie’s hair before stroking her long pointed ears. Alisaie shook, jolting against the Miqo’te as waves of pleasure coursed through her; as with all Elezens, her ears were incredibly sensitive and tended to be an erogenous zone for most of her kind. Alisaie was no exception, and she couldn’t stop her moans and gasps as Tetri continued her sweet torture, stroking the pointed tips of the Elezen’s ears with calloused fingertips. Alisaie fumbled, moving her hands up to return the favor, her hands closing over the Miqo’te’s long furred ears and stroking lightly, and smiled as Tetri gasped into her mouth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>So that rumor is true then,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought with satisfaction. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Miqo’te ears are just as sensitive as ours!</span>
  </em>
  <span> She filed that information away for the future, continuing to savor the Warrior of Light’s lips against hers. Tetri finally pulled away from her mouth with a gasp, the two women breathing harshly inside the darkness of the tent. They stared at each other, noting each other’s flushed cheeks, their eyes blown wide with desire.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alisaie, I hope that answers your question whether I want you, as well,” said Tetri. “However, I need to ask you what you want, right now.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I want anything you’re willing to give me,” Alisaie said, but frowned when Tetri shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not an answer,” she replied quietly with her typical resoluteness. “I’m asking you what you </span>
  <em>
    <span>want,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Alisaie, not what answer you think I’ll like best. What do you want from me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I want all of you,” Alisaie replied. “Your body, your hands, your lips on mine. I know it’s too much, too soon, to ask you for your heart, but the truth is that you already have mine. You’ve had it for a long time.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For her part, Tetri felt tears gathering in her eyes, and blinked them away, letting them fall, letting Alisaie see them. She had already known of Alisaie’s feelings for her back in Doma, and had begun to feel stirrings of love in kind, but she had still been grieving, and with the spectre of grief came the fear to love again, lest a new love be stolen from her anew. So she had pushed them all away, pushed her feelings deep into herself, forced herself to forget in her ceaseless battles, and it had been enough for a time. Now, the twin flames of love and fear rose up in her heart to scorch the Warrior of Light, burning her worse than Nidhogg or Ifrit ever could. She took a breath.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I want you too, Alisaie, but I can’t give you my heart, not right now,” she said, her voice shaking. Tetri took her friend’s hands and gripped them tight. “We’re in a war now, a war for the future of this world, and it’s not the Garleans we’re fighting, but a force far worse than them. I don’t know how this is all going to end, and I won’t lie and say I’m not afraid. But I am going to fight, even still, and we </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to win against the sin eaters, together.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She leaned forward, and pressed her forehead against Alisaie’s, sighing. The women both closed their eyes, breathing each other’s breath.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t give you the future, but I can give you right now,” said Tetri. “And that’s all I can spare. Are you willing to accept that, meager though it is?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I am,” replied Alisaie, and the Elezen reached up and kissed Tetri’s forehead, stroking her cheek as she pulled back slightly to look at her. “It would be my greatest honor, for you to let me love you, to let me show you how much you mean to me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alisaie…!” Tetri groaned, sighing her name, then the Miqo’te launched herself into Alisaie’s arms, kissing her firmly and pressing her back into the bedroll beneath them. Alisaie kissed her back with equal fierceness, winding her arms around Tetri’s back, tangling one hand into her hair, running the other down to the base of her tail and stroking the fur there. Tetri tore her lips away from her friend’s with a harsh gasp, instinctually thrusting forward from where she lay in between Alisaie’s legs. Alisaie couldn’t hold back a small moan as she felt the Warrior of Light grind against her center, lighting up her whole body with desire. Tetri panted as she held herself up over the Elezen woman, looking down at her, her ears twitching.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, just for future reference, Miqo’te tails are </span>
  <em>
    <span>extremely</span>
  </em>
  <span> sensitive,” said Tetri, smiling at Alisaie’s huff of laughter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So I figured, judging from your reaction when I did this,” said Alisaie, giving the Miqo’te woman a hooded look of want, her blue eyes shimmering, and then she repeated the action, stroking the fur at the base of her tail before reaching down with her other hand to grope her ass. Tetri hissed, thrusting into Alisaie again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You little </span>
  <em>
    <span>minx,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she said, growling, her control over her dragon soul growing thinner, and she ran a hand up Alisaie’s leg, stroking her knee before dragging her fingers up the Elezen’s thigh, grinning, watching Alisaie begin to tremble as she began to push her skirt upwards. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re playing with fire, my gorgeous Red Mage,” said Tetri, her voice low, and Alisaie opened her eyes, not even realizing she had closed them, looking up at Tetri, searing her with the same azure gaze as her twin. Alisaie spread her legs further in a blatant invitation, hiking up her skirt even more, leaning back against the bedroll and arching her back, baring her throat to the other woman.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” replied Alisaie. “Go ahead and burn me, then, Crimson Dragoon. I can take your flame.”  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Elezen watched as Tetri gazed back at her, expecting her friend to close the distance between them once again, but suddenly, the Miqo’te woman pulled back, kneeling before Alisaie on the bedroll. Tetri’s ears were flat against her head in anxiety, her ruby eyes hooded with worry. Alisaie’s mind whirled, wondering what she had done to push her friend away. Had she been too forward, after all?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is--is everything alright, Tetri?” she asked cautiously, sitting up, watching as the Warrior of Light sighed and ran a hand through her hair, her long purple tail thrashing behind her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, I--I’m sorry, Alisaie,” said Tetri. “It’s not you--I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to continue. It’s just…” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Miqo’te trailed off, staring at Alisaie as if she could see right through her. Alisaie tried to calm her own racing heart, the fear of rejection rising up to choke her. Even if Tetri didn’t want to be her lover, this night, or any other, Alisaie didn’t want to be alone so soon after losing her partner. She didn’t want Tetri to leave her side. She searched her mind for words that would possibly reassure the Warrior of Light, while ensuring she wouldn’t leave the tent, when Tetri spoke, filling the tense silence between them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Again, I’m sorry, Alisaie, it’s not you,” she said. “It’s about me, me and--and Alphinaud.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie blinked and stared into Tetri’s ruby eyes, watching as a light blush formed on her cheeks. She said nothing, waiting for her to continue. Tetri cleared her throat. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alphinaud, back in Kholusia, he and I--I mean, we--”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh!” exclaimed Alisaie, smiling gently at Tetri, giving her a knowing glance and a nod. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that all?” she continued. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Finally.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I thought it might never happen, to be honest. So, he got you first, then. Can't say I'm surprised, I suppose.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie watched as Tetri’s jaw dropped; she obviously hadn’t been expecting that reaction from her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” she asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie reached out and took Tetri’s hand, stroking her palm, watching as the blush spread further on the Miqo’te’s cheeks. Tetri stared at their linked hands, and Alisaie sighed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tetri, look at me, please,” said Alisaie, and finally the Warrior of Light raised her eyes to Alisaie’s once more. Alisaie gripped her hand tighter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s my twin,” said Alisaie quietly. “And while we do get on each other’s nerves frequently, we’re still quite close. I know my brother nearly as well as I know myself. That goes both ways, too, with him and I. Part of the reason we find each other so infuriating, is because we know each other so deeply.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie paused to stroke Tetri’s palm once more, watching as Tetri shivered from the touch. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know my brother, Tetri,” she said, “and I know he's been in love with you far longer than I have.”  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri blinked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you, now?” she asked, trying to keep her voice nonchalant, but Alisaie could see through the defensiveness it was. She knew Tetri was embarrassed about having become lovers with Alphinaud, and now the Warrior of Light was growing closer with her, as well. Perhaps Tetri felt it was wrong, either the act, her feelings, or both; clearly, Alisaie had to divulge her of such a notion, for both her and her brother’s sake. She knew Alphinaud would be absolutely cross with her, if she allowed Tetri to feel like the own musings of her heart were unethical, simply because she loved both of them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I do,” she said. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So...it doesn’t bother you that I slept with your brother?” asked Tetri, her ears twitching. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not only does it not bother me, Tetri, but it doesn’t surprise me in the least,” replied Alisaie, sitting up further and crossing her legs beneath her. “You could say I expected it, eventually, though I wouldn’t say it was necessarily inevitable. Just that it was a possibility I found quite likely, considering how close the two of you were already. I used to be jealous of your shared bond, to be honest.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She smiled, looking away as she reminisced, though she didn’t let go of Tetri’s hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We talked about you, a little, once we both arrived in the First,” she said. “Not much, mind, and nothing negative. Just enough to confirm how we both felt about you. But that's the thing, Tetri, about both of us.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie looked up then, and took both of Tetri’s hands in hers. “We grew up together, and we shared </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything.</span>
  </em>
  <span> We know how to share the things that matter to us the most. And that includes you.”  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She smiled at the Warrior of Light.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“As well as I know my brother, I know he knows me just as well, and I know he knows that I love you, too,” she said. “I doubt he’d be surprised if we became lovers, and I very much doubt he’d be so possessive as to demand exclusivity of your time and attention, at least between the both of us. So, I have nothing to be jealous of or bothered about, if that’s what was originally concerning you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri let out a breath, and Alisaie sighed in relief as she saw the Miqo’te’s shoulders drop, her tension lessening. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alisaie, I--I have to say, that wasn’t what I was expecting,” said Tetri with an embarrassed huff of laughter. “I thought you would be furious.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not at all,” the Elezen replied. “In all seriousness, I’m glad it was you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Glad it was me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That it was you that deflowered my brother, of course,” said Alisaie.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alisaie!” said Tetri with a scandalized gasp.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie snorted in derision, crossing her arms petulantly as she stared at the Miqo'te.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don't act all shocked at me, now, Tetri,” she said. “Clearly you weren't enough of a prude to </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> deflower my brother, as soon as the chance presented itself. Or do you deny it?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I--of course not,” Tetri spluttered, feeling her cheeks heat further in embarrassment. “It just--sounded crass to say it like that, that's all.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I see,” Alisaie said with a small laugh. “Does it sound better if I say you </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucked</span>
  </em>
  <span> my brother, then?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri groaned, putting her hands over her face as she felt herself flush even further in mortification. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, that's far worse,” she said, her voice muffled between her hands, before sighing and putting them in her lap, looking at Alisaie again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I--I'm glad you're not bothered, and if you think it's alright with him--” she began.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know it's alright with him,” said Alisaie, taking Tetri's hands in hers once more. “We both love you, Tetri. One night together with each of us, or either of us, won't change that. It couldn't ever change how we both feel about you. We both missed you, you know. We both couldn't wait to see you again.”  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri trembled, and couldn't hold back a sob, moved by Alisaie's faith in Alphinaud, and in her. To know that </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> of her dear Leveilleur twins loved her, that the two brave, kind Elezen siblings whom she adored actually returned her feelings, made the Warrior of Light feel like her world was spinning out of orbit. She felt herself smile through her tears, gripping Alisaie’s hands even tighter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I adore you both, as well,” she said in a whisper. “I hope you know that, Alisaie, that you both know that. Even with all we’ve been through, all that’s happening in this world, that’s never changed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I do know, Tetri,” replied Alisaie with a gentle smile. “We both do.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” the Miqo’te replied, taking one of her hands away to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “Then I hope you’re alright with continuing what we were originally doing, despite that heavy interlude.” She looked at Alisaie, her cheeks flushed, purple ears twitching, and Alisaie squeezed her hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s nothing I’d like more,” she said, and leaned back against the bedroll, tugging Tetri gently forward. “That is, if you want to.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I do, very much,” replied Tetri, her voice a whisper as she leaned down towards Alisaie’s lips. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then let me love you, you damn dragoon,” said Alisaie, her voice finally thin with impatience, and saw Tetri smirk at her before the Red Mage grasped the front of her blouse and yanked her down, claiming the other woman’s lips with her own. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie kissed the Miqo’te hungrily, winding her arms around Tetri’s neck and looping her legs about her waist, rocking her hips up to grind against her center. Alisaie’s short skirt drifted up over her thighs at the motion, revealing tantalizing bare skin, and the Warrior of Light groaned at the feeling of Alisaie’s smooth skin encircling her legging-clad hips. Tetri let out a low growl against Alisaie’s lips, kissing the younger woman back just as ravenously. She broke their kiss to trail her lips down the side of Alisaie’s neck, pressing featherlight kisses down the Elezen’s soft skin. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie shivered, feeling her smallclothes already drenched with desire, and squeezed her thighs even tighter around Tetri’s, rocking up into her again so that her core brushed against the juncture of the Miqo’te’s thighs, and the two women hissed as pleasure rocked through the both of them. She twisted her fingers into Tetri’s purple and white locks, reveling in its soft texture, unable to keep arching upwards into the heat of the taller woman’s body above her. Tetri slipped a hand up underneath Alisaie’s skirt and into her smallclothes, cupping her sex. Alisaie jolted, moaning Tetri’s name as the Miqo’te stroked her weeping slit, feeling herself growing wetter with every passing moment. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re so wet, Alisaie,” murmured Tetri against her neck, not ceasing the gentle drag of her fingers against the Elezen’s slick folds, dragging her tongue up until she reached the pointed tip of Alisaie’s right ear. She leaned towards Alisaie, nibbling on the tip of her ear, grinning wickedly as the Elezen woman shuddered and shook beneath her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“All this sweetness, dripping out of you,” said Tetri in a whisper, gently stroking her fingers through Alisaie’s sopping cleft before running them up to brush lightly against her clit. Alisaie shook and cried out as Tetri flicked her sensitive bud with callused fingers, the dragoon’s dexterity evident as she teased the Red Mage beneath her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this all for me, Alisaie?” asked Tetri, running her tongue up and down the length of Alisaie’s ear. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Gods</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Tetri, yes, it’s for you--ah!” Alisaie gasped, crying out her name and trying to twist away in the other woman’s grip as she was overstimulated by the Miqo’te’s tongue on her ear, but Tetri held her fast.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re a brave girl, aren’t you, Alisaie?” Tetri murmured, finally pulling away an ilm and stroking Alisaie’s cheek, her voice filled with admiration as well as passion. She tilted Alisaie’s face up, so she could stare into that azure gaze, so alike Alphinaud’s, yet burning with the fiery magic of a Red Mage, whereas Alphinaud’s roiled with a cool, misty aether of an Arcanist. So alike yet different, her darling Leveilleur twins! </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Lying beneath me,” said Tetri, “filled with the power of red magic, filled with </span>
  <em>
    <span>veraero</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>verfire</span>
  </em>
  <span> both. It’s beautiful, your magic, that dance of elements. I can smell it on your skin. I can smell the richness of it in your blood, through my dragon soul.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Miqo’te punctuated her words by nuzzling into Alisaie’s neck just beneath her ear, pressing a heated kiss there, enjoying the feeling of the Elezen shivering under her as she took a deep breath of her scent, feeling dizzy at the heady rush of elemental magicks thrumming through the Red Mage. Tetri’s dragon soul hissed in pleasure inside her mind, sending a pulse of possessive want through her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She smells </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>sweet,</em>
  </b>
  <span> it said, sending a wave of aching instinct through the dragoon, and Tetri gritted her teeth at the overwhelming power roiling through her veins. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sweet, and powerful, and beautiful. She is perfect. Perfect like her twin, sweet just like him. Perfect for us. Make her our mate, make her </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>ours!</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The urge for her to claim Alisaie in carnal fashion was nearly indistinguishable from the hunger for food, a more inconvenient part of her draconic instinct that didn’t translate well to mortals. Tetri dismissed it, focusing on her love for the younger woman in her arms. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I know she is perfect,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought, fighting the urge to roll her eyes as she felt her dragon soul hiss irritably at her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I have known that since I was a mere lancer. And if she decides to be ours, it shall be by </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>her</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> will.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Just so,</span>
  </em>
  <span> it replied, hissing and coiling around her mind, satisfied that they were in mutual agreement over at least the first part of their wanting. Tetri pulled slightly away from Alisaie’s skin, looking at her face, enjoying the look of desire in the Elezen’s eyes. Knowing she still wanted Tetri back gave the dragoon another boost of confidence.       </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, some dragons eat magic,” she continued, Alisaie’s heady scent still in the air about them, “the more ancient ones that were more aether than flesh. At least, that’s what I read in Ishgard, but who knows if that was real, full of lies as they were about dragonkind. My dragon soul likes how you smell, though, all that red magic simmering within you. I don’t always agree with that part of myself, but we are in agreement about one thing: you look good enough to eat right now.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then--then what’s stopping you?” said Alisaie, her voice shaking only a little at the passionate gleam in Tetri’s ruby eyes. Tetri growled low in her throat, smirking down at her would-be lover. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to taste you,” said the Warrior of Light, growling even deeper, her long ears twitching. “Would you allow me?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie watched as tendrils of blue dragonflame began simmering on the surface of Tetri’s skin, coiling upwards in arcs of shimmering azure fire, casting a blue glow on the roof of the tent. Even as her control wore thinner, Alisaie noticed the Miqo’te move a bit backwards from her, giving her space between them, and Alisaie realized that Tetri was giving her a way to back out, a way to still say no, even after all they had done just prior. Alisaie found herself moved by Tetri’s thoughtfulness and courtesy, even amidst the depths of their shared passion. She reached out and took Tetri’s hand, which was awash in blue flames, feeling the power of dragonfire envelop her fingers as she did so. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie felt the rush of draconic magic move through her instantly, all scaled rage and roaring strength, the power to leap through the skies, to rend enemies to shreds by claws and lance! It wasn’t much different than her own crimson magic, </span>
  <em>
    <span>veraero</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>verfire</span>
  </em>
  <span> unleashed at the end of Alisaie’s blade. Alisaie knew they were both warriors, both masters of their respective magical arts, and that made them better together, instead of apart. A wave of love for the dragoon Miqo’te arose anew in Alisaie’s heart, and she raised Tetri’s flaming hand to her lips, pressing a gentle kiss against her knuckles. Tetri blinked back tears at Alisaie’s complete lack of fear at her dragonflame, even as it steadily enveloped them both, until they were awash in cerulean fire, her control over it nearly sundered as she fell under the tide of desire. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Tetri, I want that. I want you, too,” she said, without a shred of hesitation in her voice. “Taste me, touch me, anything. I longed for you…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>longed</span>
  </em>
  <span> for me, Alisaie?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Elezen bit her lower lip, feeling her face flush in excitement, and a rush of wetness drip against Tetri’s fingers still pressed against her folds. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At that whispered admission, Tetri couldn't hold back, and she bent down to kiss Alisaie again with a snarl, urgent and messy, more teeth clacking together than lips, but Alisaie kissed her back all the same, her body chasing more of the older woman's touch on her body, any way she could get it. Tetri pulled reluctantly away with a gasp, and took her hand out of Alisaie's smallclothes to tug insistently at her skirt.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Take this off," said Tetri in a whisper, sitting up to yank her own blouse and braissiere up over her head, before undoing her leggings and smalls. She focused on undoing her own clothing with slightly shaking hands, not looking over at Alisaie. She would have done it herself, would have stripped the Elezen woman with haste, but she didn't want to rip or tear what appeared to be Alisaie's only functioning outfit, not having yet seen any evidence to the contrary that she owned anything else.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She let out a relieved sigh as she finally stepped out of her smallclothes, cool air hitting her heated skin. Her dragonfire still roiled off her skin in waves, making her sweat, but Tetri sent it away irritably with a downward gesture with her right hand, and her dragon soul allowed it as it settled in her mind, satisfied they were both going to get what they wanted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri turned back towards Alisaie, her mouth going dry as she glimpsed the nearly naked Red Mage pull her smallclothes down her body, finally baring herself to Tetri's gaze. She looked up, blushing at Tetri, her blue eyes shimmering with longing, her ivory hair drifting in ringlets about her face, her braided queue becoming undone. Alisaie was shorter than Tetri and lithe of figure, her breasts small and pink-tipped, her waist delicate, her legs toned from the leaping whirls of swordfighting that were the Red Mage's primary repertoire. Tetri dragged her gaze lower on the Elezen woman's body to rest at the thatch of white curls at the juncture of her thighs, and the Miqo'te swallowed as she felt her mouth water at the sight. She wanted to part Alisaie's thighs and lick her center until her friend had to muffle her screams with a hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sight of Alisaie bare before her made Tetri recall a different pair of azure eyes as they had roamed her own body, made her think of Alphinaud crying out in her mouth as Tetri had taken him on the open plains of Kholusia, as he had taken her. Would Alisaie sound the same as her brother, would his sister cling to her as desperately as he had? Would Alisaie's mouth on her breast feel as hot as Alphinaud's, would the Elezen woman drive her as mad with wanting as her twin had?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri took a shaky breath, trying to clear her head. It didn't matter if Alisaie was similar or wildly different from Alphinaud, for she loved them both with a passion bordering on madness. She would die for them, do anything for them. She would do anything to them that they asked, let them do anything to her that they wanted. The way Tetri figured, love was all or nothing to a Warrior of Light; it had to be. Shouldering the destiny of a world (or several) didn't allow for second guessing, and that had to apply to matters of the heart, out of necessity. As nervous as she was, Tetri was ready to love both of them, just as they were, just as she was. In turn, she knew she had to trust they'd accept her, with all her faults, all of her undoubtedly many flaws. She had given her trust, and her heart, for less, and if any two people had done more to win her loyalty, it was the Leveilleur twins. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ignorant of Tetri's frazzled mind state, Alisaie lay back down on the mess of blankets strewn about the tent, smiling at Tetri and reaching out a hand to her. Tetri paused at the surreal quality of the moment, remembering how she had done nearly the same for Alphinaud as she had beckoned him to lay down with her in Kholusia, nearly a week prior to her arrival in Ahm Araeng. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Come here and love me, Tetri," said Alisaie, and it was as much an order as a plea, one which the Warrior of Light could not help but obey.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"My Alisaie," whispered Tetri in reply, and then the Miqo'te took her offered hand, allowing herself to be pulled down into Alisaie's waiting arms. The two women kissed again as they steadily lost themselves in each others' impassioned caresses, but this time it was sweet and slow. The Warrior of Light fought her urge to immediately ravish the woman beneath her, but she pulled back once more, wanting to address the reason this was even happening. She didn’t want Alisaie to fall apart with her, or to be the cause of any further distress. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alisaie, I just--I just want to say, before we go on, I'm not her, dear heart,” she whispered against Alisaie's lips, staring into the Elezen's blue eyes, willing her to understand. “I'm so sorry, but I'm not. I'll never be her, and I can't ever take her place. But I will be right here, fighting by your side, as long as you'll have me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie smiled at her, reaching up to ruffle her ears, feeling them twitch as she ran her hands through the soft fur. Tetri bit her lip to keep from moaning at the touch, unable to hold back a shiver.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you’re not Tesleen, Tetri,” she said. “As I told you earlier, I loved you before I even got to this world, before I was taken from your side. And yes, I will grieve for Tesleen, and I will mourn, and it will take however long it takes. But I also know she wouldn’t want me to mourn her forever. I told her there was a woman I loved before, and she knew of you our whole time together, though not by name. I doubt she’d be surprised I would pursue that woman’s heart, if I had the opportunity, as unfortunate a circumstance it would have been for her and I. And I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> she wouldn’t be angry if I did. Hells, she’d likely even be happy for me. For</span>
  <em>
    <span> us.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie then reached up and kissed Tetri sweetly on the corner of her mouth, not relinquishing her grip on the Miqo’te’s ears, enjoying how the Warrior of Light said her name in a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyone who finds even a hint of happiness, in this broken world, is lucky beyond measure,” whispered Alisaie. “So calm your mind, my Crimson Dragoon. Lay here with me, and let me love you. And the </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> thing I want to hear from your lips, from this moment on, is </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes</span>
  </em>
  <span>, or some other sound of enjoyment, or my name. Is that clear, Warrior of Light?”  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri laughed softly, her ears twitching with mirth still in the Elezen’s grip, and it drifted over Alisaie like silk. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Clear as crystal, dear heart,” she said fondly, and then turned her face, so that she could meet Alisaie’s lips with her own once more. Alisaie coaxed Tetri’s mouth open, demanding entry with her tongue, and the Miqo’te sighed as they twined their tongues together. Their mouths thus occupied with savoring each other, Alisaie dragged her hands down from Tetri’s ears to drift through her hair, over her neck and muscular shoulders, slim but still bulky from hefting an iron spear through the skies. Her hands drifted lower, over the small of the Warrior’s back, drifting teasingly over the base of the Miqo’te’s tail, just enough to make her shiver, before Alisaie reached down and grasped Tetri’s ass and squeezed. Tetri gasped Alisaie’s name, thrusting forward on instinct between Alisaie’s thighs until their cores brushed together, and the two women jolted in pleasure. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri took Alisaie’s lips again in a bruising kiss, biting her lower lip, timing it with a slow and steady grind against her cleft, not separating their bodies even a moment. Alisaie moaned as waves of bliss rocked through her core and abdomen, drifting through her whole being, until all she felt was an absolute need for more of the woman in her arms. She gave a wordless noise of frustration as Tetri pulled slightly away, causing the Miqo’te to chuckle lightly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Be at ease, my sweet,” she said, “I will not leave you unsatisfied in such a manner. In fact, I intend quite the opposite.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She punctuated her words with a string of light kisses down Alisaie’s neck, before drifting lower, pressing her lips into the warm space in between Alisaie’s breasts. Tetri groaned as she was overwhelmed at the sweet scent of her lover there; Alisaie smelled like sweat and red magic, like the dust that covered everything in Amh Araeng, like the jasmine oil she had bought from one of the traders at the Inn, and a unique scent that was all her own. The Miqo’te managed to pull herself out of her fugue state of desire, dragging her lips up to kiss Alisaie’s breasts instead, licking at the nipple on her left breast while caressing the right with her hand, savoring the gasps she wrenched out of the Elezen. She then switched sides, paying her right breast the same attention, biting gently before pulling away and moving lower, kissing across her abdomen, smiling as Alisaie twitched and blurted out a barely suppressed giggle.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry,” said Tetri as she moved between Alisaie’s thighs, not sounding even remotely apologetic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri spread Alisaie’s thighs apart before draping them across her shoulders, looking up at the Elezen, grinning as a deep blush spread across Alisaie’s cheeks. Without breaking her friend’s gaze, she nipped at Alisaie’s left thigh, dragging her teeth across the soft skin, and Alisaie gasped.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tetri, godsdamnit, stop teasing me,” said Alisaie, trying to sound demanding but unable to keep her voice from trembling at her lover’s proximity to her slick sex. She panted, running her hands through Tetri’s hair and across the fur of her ears as the Miqo’te bit and sucked at her thighs, using enough pressure to leave dark welts across Alisaie’s sensitive skin. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Everyone’s going to be able to see those,” said Alisaie, tugging on Tetri’s hair until the older woman raised her head to smirk at her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” she said with a low growl. “I want everyone to see that you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>mine.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Including the Exarch?” replied Alisaie, arching her brows at her lover. She knew Tetri likely wouldn’t be bothered by her brother being aware of their newfound relationship, but she wasn’t sure where the Warrior of Light stood with the Crystal Exarch on such personal matters, as mysterious as he insisted on keeping himself. Tetri burst out with a laugh, her tail waving through the air. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Including him, that secretive bastard,” she said, nuzzling her thighs. “So what if he knows? He dragged you all here, including myself, caught us all up in this mess. This </span>
  <em>
    <span>war.</span>
  </em>
  <span> We’ve seen it all before. Let him stew, if my lovers bother him. I don’t mind watching him squirm beneath his robes.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie huffed out a laugh of her own at that, petting Tetri’s ears.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, he will,” she said. “You didn’t hear him talk about you, for months, but I did. He practically interrogated Alphinaud and I about you, while we learned about this world in the Crystarium. ‘We need the Warrior of Light,’ he said, over and over again, in so many words. He asked us both about you constantly, asked me what you were like in battle, in Doma and Ala Mhigo. About you fighting in the Dragonsong War. Even Alphinaud got tired of it, we were relieved to finally get away. He’s obsessed with you, Tetri. I don’t really know why.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri snorted, shaking her head slightly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He can get in line, then, I suppose,” she said. “If he has questions about me, he should ask me himself. If we didn’t need the Exarch to get us all home, I wouldn’t trust the man to tell me the truth about anything. He has too many secrets, Alisiae. I don’t like it. So let him know. I’ll enjoy watching him squirm, and you should too. In fact, I’m going to make </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> squirm, right now!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Warrior of Light finally looked away from Alisaie’s eyes, turning her attention to the Elezen’s alluring pink cunt, salivating at the sight before her. Tetri growled again, low in her throat, no longer able to restrain herself, and lunged forward with parted lips, making contact with her tongue.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie shrieked, barely managing to cover her mouth with a hand to muffle the sound as an afterthought. After all, it wasn’t like she’d never had loud sex in camp before, and this was no different (though she knew, at the same time, that circumstances were, in fact, quite different). She had become too tightly wound up, her mind and body worn by both grief and desire, and the mere touch of Tetri’s tongue between her legs had her near the brink of release.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri groaned in abandon as her lover’s bittersweet taste flooded her senses, lapping up her nectar. The Miqo’te licked a hot stripe up Alisaie’s slit before closing her lips over the whole of her and applying gentle suction, groaning as the Red Mage yanked roughly on her hair.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh!</span>
  </em>
  <span>--Oh, mmm, Tetri, yes, just like that!” Alisaie gasped, rocking up into her Warrior’s mouth. Tetri growled and clutched her hands tighter about Alisaie’s hips as she feasted on the Elezen. Her mind had become blank, drunk on the taste of Alisaie in her mouth, on the heat of her lover’s thighs about her head, her dragon soul hissing with contented wanting, coiling around within her mind, blocking out all conscious thought except a feeling of blinding need. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri released Alisaie, dragging her tongue up to swirl over her clit. Alisaie gasped again, shaking as Tetri covered her sensitive bud in wet heat, rocking faster against the Miqo’te’s mouth until her entire body was buzzing with pleasure. The red-hot ache in her belly tightened further and finally snapped, and Alisaie bit her palm as she cried out in a stilted scream of release, her legs clamping about Tetri’s neck as she tumbled over the edge into bliss. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Warrior of Light sighed contentedly as Alisaie’s legs finally loosened from about her shoulders and the Elezen slumped back onto the bedroll, her chest heaving as she fought to catch her breath. Tetri licked her lips, her mouth and chin still damp with Alisaie’s release as she sat up slowly, adoring the flush on Alisaie’s skin and her look of glazed contentment. She loved seeing both of her twins happy, and yearned to give Alisaie all the pleasure she could handle. A feeling of resolution swelled within her heart, along with her love for the Elezen before her; it was for </span>
  <em>
    <span>their</span>
  </em>
  <span> sakes, theirs, and the rest of the Scions, that she would work with the Crystal Exarch to restore this world. Together with the Scions, she would defeat the sin eaters, and get the Exarch to return them all safely home.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, gorgeous,” she said, “how are you liking this, so far?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Immensely,” replied Alisaie, running a hand through her now-tangled hair, before sitting up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d like to return the favor,” she said, taking Tetri’s hands in hers and raising them to her lips, pressing a kiss on the back of each one. “Tell me what you like, Tetri.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Miqo’te smiled, long ears twitching, leaning in to kiss her slowly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I like nearly anything, and I’ll be happy to let you do whatever you want to me,” she said in a whisper against Alisaie’s lips, her heart swelling with devotion as she felt Alisaie smile against her mouth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Anything? Do you really mean that?” she asked, pulling back to look into Tetri’s ruby eyes, and Tetri’s lips quirked at the look of mischief on her lover’s face. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I do,” she said, “but I don’t know whether to be nervous or not at the face you’re making.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie just laughed, pulling Tetri forward, and moved aside to press the Miqo’te gently down until her back hit the bedroll. Tetri looked up at her, raising an eyebrow as she watched the Elezen move down to sit between her legs. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, my love,” said Alisaie, still smiling as she stroked her hands up and down Tetri’s parted thighs. “What I have planned is something I think you’ll completely enjoy. It might even be something you’ve never done before. Do you trust me, Tetri?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“With my life,” replied the Warrior of Light without an onze of hesitation, unable to stop a shiver of anticipation that rocked through her body. She did feel slightly nervous, but she had meant every word she had said, and was indeed fully willing to go along with whatever Alisaie wanted. Tetri swallowed as Alisaie looked down at her and fixed her with a look of pure desire, smirking wickedly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well then,” said the Elezen, “let’s begin.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Without another word, Alisaie bent down and closed her lips around Tetri’s clit, sucking gently, feeling a thrill of satisfaction run through her as she heard Tetri swear before moaning her name. Alisaie paused to slowly run her tongue up and down Tetri’s slit, darting her tongue inside before reaching back up to tease her sensitive bud, savoring the taste of her lover, salty-sweet and dusky and finally, </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally</span>
  </em>
  <span> hers at last. She stroked her fingers through the Miqo’te’s soaked cleft, sliding two of her fingers inside Tetri’s welcoming heat. She relished how the Warrior of Light moaned again and quivered around her digits as she reached deep, making the Miqo’te cry out. Alisaie released Tetri’s clit to look up at her, smirking at the look of passion on her face, at the red flush covering her tan skin, the deep red visible even underneath her dark facial markings. Her ruby eyes were glazed, her pupils nearly fully dilated, and she panted, thrusting herself further onto Alisaie’s fingers, her hands clutching the blankets surrounding them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah!</span>
  </em>
  <span>-Oh, Alisaie, yes!” she cried. “Fuck me harder, come on!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, so this isn’t enough for you, Warrior of Light?” asked Alisaie, a hint of challenge in her voice. “You need more? You want to come?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” replied Tetri, panting, closing her eyes and arching her back against the bedroll, her ears twitching against the sides of her head, her purple tail thrashing beside them. “Yes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Alisaie, make me come…!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes now closed, Tetri missed the utterly wicked grin Alisaie gave her. She thrust her fingers deeper into the Miqo’te, reaching even deeper until she found the hidden ridged spot inside her that would bring her to the heights of her pleasure. She brushed it lightly with her finger, watching in satisfaction as Tetri jolted up from the bedroll with a cry and tightened slightly around her fingers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you ready, Tetri?” asked Alisaie, her voice calm even though a thrill of power rushed through her veins at what she was about to do. “I’ll stop any time you say so, just tell me.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Alisaie--I’m ready, </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> godsdamnit!” said Tetri in a snarl, now blinded to anything except her need to come. She was covered in sweat, a side effect of holding back the dragonfire simmering in her blood. Alisaie laughed at her lover’s frustration, knowing what was in store for the dragoon writhing underneath her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, love,” she said, “anything for you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Without warning, she touched her fingers to Tetri’s g-spot, curving her hand upwards, and summoned her red magic, feeling the cool and warm currents of </span>
  <em>
    <span>veraero</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>verfire</span>
  </em>
  <span> flow through her veins, the rush adding an extra dimension to the heady power of having the Hero of Eorzea at her mercy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Vercure,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” whispered Alisaie, and watched as currents of green energy rose up from the surface of her skin, feeling her whole hand heat up from the healing energy enveloping it, including the fingers buried inside her lover. She smirked and pressed her fingers into Tetri’s g-spot, sending the healing enchantment into her, filling the Miqo’te with a rush of healing red magic. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ahhh!</span>
  </em>
  <span>--Alisaie, </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh gods</span>
  </em>
  <span>--fuck!” said Tetri in a choked cry, arching her entire body upwards as she felt currents of pure magic envelop her from inside her, pleasure tingling along every nerve. The magic rushed along her body, seeking places of injury, and, not finding any, returned to Alisaie as its caster, who sent them through Tetri again and again as she stroked her g-spot relentlessly. Tetri shook against the Elezen, overstimulated, and tried to move away, but Alisaie held her fast.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Tetri! That’s what I’m doing,” said Alisaie, breathing hard, clutching Tetri’s hip with her other hand and thrusting her now-drenched fingers in and out of her Warrior, never ceasing her fast pace, keeping the rush of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Vercure</span>
  </em>
  <span> going. Tendrils of green healing magic surrounded them in verdant waves, billowing up towards the edges of the tent. Tetri gasped and groaned, overwhelmed by the healing energy coursing inside of her, the warmth of it clashing with the burning heat of her dragon’s blood, the combination of magics sending her body into overdrive. She felt her dragon soul strain against the edges of her awareness, and opened her mouth to moan, but a roar came out instead, which she just managed to stifle with a hand against her lips.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, that’s it, my love,” said Alisaie, and yanked Tetri up against her, rocking her fingers into the Warrior of Light at a fast pace. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ahhh</span>
  </em>
  <span>--gods, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Alisaie, please--</span>
  <em>
    <span>oh!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri moaned in a string of broken sighs and gasps, rocking her hips forward and grinding into Alisaie’s hand. She didn’t even mind she was begging; at that moment there was nothing but pleasure, pleasure and the thrum of dual magics, curling low and thick at the base of her spine, emanating from Alisaie’s fingers thrusting fiercely into her soaked cunt. Tetri felt herself on the edge, felt her body tense as she neared the summit of her ecstasy, and then she was there, tumbling over into her own bliss, distantly hearing herself crying out Alisaie’s name as she shook and shuddered. Alisaie stared in abject wonder as the Warrior of Light came around her fingers, slowing the movement of her hand and letting the Miqo’te ride out the rest of her peak, until Tetri finally lay limp against the bedroll, panting. Only then did Alisaie withdraw her hand, sending her </span>
  <em>
    <span>Vercure</span>
  </em>
  <span> magic away with a whisper, the green tendrils still surrounding them dissipating until they faded completely. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re simply gorgeous, Tetri,” said Alisaie, her own voice hoarse from her earlier cries. “I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Those are supposed to be my lines,” she heard Tetri mumble behind the arm she had draped over her eyes, and she saw that her Warrior was still breathing harshly as she recovered from her orgasm. “Twelve Above, I had no idea you could use healing magic that way…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, there’s no rules about it, really,” said Alisaie primly, licking Tetri’s essence off her fingers until they were clean, savoring the taste on her fingertips. “Though I doubt Urianger would approve. He has such strong opinions on the proper use of magic. A proper Studium-educated git, to the end, if there ever was one.”  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She smiled at Tetri’s low laugh, watching her breasts bounce with the movement of her laughter. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not necessarily true,” said Tetri, moving her arm to level a look of fondness at Alisaie, her ruby eyes gleaming as she returned Alisaie’s smile. “I have a feeling about that one, Alisaie. Urianger may not be as much of a prude as he seems. Call it a Warrior’s intuition.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmmm. I’ll take your word for it, my Warrior,” said Alisiae, looking at Tetri’s naked body with utter satisfaction. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>we are definitely doing this again. And at the earliest, safest opportunity to do so.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She wanted Tetri in a bed back in the Crystarium, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> bed, preferably after a two-hour bath to cleanse her body of all the dust in this damn desert. Alisaie took another look at her lover, admiring the Miqo’te’s relaxed demeanor as she slouched back against the bedroll. With her right arm up above her head and the other resting beside her, highlighting the elegant curves of her breasts, her tail curled about her thighs, Alisaie thought Tetri looked like a model, as beautiful as a painting, even in the darkness of the tent, though she could see the expanse of her Warrior’s body well enough. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe I will commission a portrait of her from Alphinaud,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she mused, </span>
  <em>
    <span>nude, of course. After I make her look as satisfied as she looks right now.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She wondered if her brother would grow jealous of their newfound relationship once they returned to the Crystarium, if he would insist on having Tetri that very night, as well. If that was the case, he would just have to wait until they were finished enjoying a plush bed in the Pendants. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m the oldest,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and I get to have time with her first. He can wait.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The thought sounded unnecessarily selfish even to her own mind, and Alisaie felt an ensuing sting of guilt. Here she was, saying they were fine </span>
  <em>
    <span>sharing</span>
  </em>
  <span> time with Tetri, and now she wanted to keep the Miqo’te all to herself! Although they both knew she had been born mere moments before her twin, so in reality, her claim as eldest amongst them was moot. In issues of disputes between them, however, the oldest always won, as was their unspoken rule, and she knew Alphinaud would eventually acquiesce if she said so. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Of course, Alisaie had never insisted on pulling her rank as older twin in regards to claiming a shared lover, so this was new territory for them. Somehow, though, she knew they would both manage spending their own time with the Warrior of Light. Alisaie knew she was stubborn, but she wasn’t stupid, not in regards to keeping the peace between her and her brother during another Calamity. Besides, Tetri loved them </span>
  <em>
    <span>both.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She owed Alphinaud as much time with </span>
  <em>
    <span>their</span>
  </em>
  <span> beloved as he wanted, and despite these private moments of personal greed, she would never truly insist on having their Warrior all to herself. They both knew Tetri would never agree to that anyway.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie mused further on that point. Months ago, while the twins had gained their bearings in the First, they had spoken at length and both agreed that Tetri likely had feelings for more than just the two of them amongst the Scions, though at this point it was only a hunch. Alphinaud believed it was a good one, however, and she agreed with him, for he had known Tetri personally for much longer than she had. The Dragonsong War had done a number on them both, emotionally and mentally, to say nothing of the physical battles Tetri and her brother had endured in Ishgard and the lands beyond, but Alisaie had seen it bring them closer together despite it all. In Doma she had seen the bond between Alphinaud and Tetri strengthened, the shared touches of comfort they exchanged, on a shoulder or hand, managing to ease their worries without a word exchanged between them. During the war in Ala Mhigo, she had subsequently seen the Warrior of Light give that same look, of longing and affection, to the other Scions in turn, and that had sealed the notion for her. Alphinaud had witnessed the same, and assumed it to be deeper than mere friendship. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie decided, in that instant, with the memory of their lovemaking fresh in her mind, that she would be alright with sharing Tetri amongst the other Scions, as well, should that be their Warrior’s desire. Not only were they her fellow comrades in arms, and the only other natives of Eorzea and the Source, but she trusted them with her life, and she knew she could also trust them with the one who now owned her heart. What was happiness, anyway, but love shared amongst kindred hearts, no matter the number of them? In such a broken world as the First, with its peoples menaced by demons, its cities in rubble, its histories turned to forgotten myths, and its very future in question, what else could happiness possibly be? Alisaie could fathom no other form for it, and just that thought alone was enough to quell any latent possessiveness or jealousy in her.    </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Feeling secure in her mind once more, the Red Mage turned to regard her lover. Tetri fixed her with a lazy smile, content just to gaze at her and say nothing, basking in the moment. Alisaie could not help but mirror the older woman’s expression with a smile of her own, as she felt the familiar, comforting feeling of her own resolve swell within her heart and mind. It was that same resolve that had led her to discovering and mastering her own path of the Red Mage, trading her grimoire for a saber, the same resolve that had led her back to Alphinaud and the Scions, that had led her to befriending and loving the Warrior of Light. The light of her own determination pierced the gloom of her sorrow, imbuing her with hope, and Alisaie knew it was now time for her to leave the desert, hopefully for good.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m coming back with you, Tetri,” she said. “Back to the Crystarium. I’ve had more than enough of Amh Araeng for one lifetime, and I have a feeling it’s going to take all of us, together, to put this world to rights.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She reached forward and took Tetri’s hand, placing a gentle kiss on her palm. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be, than by your side,” said Alisaie, and Tetri laughed softly, sitting up awkwardly on the bedroll to enfold the Elezen in her arms.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And there’s no one else I’d rather have at my side,” said Tetri, “or in my bed, for that matter. Besides your brother, of course. I do have an entire suite in the Pendants, you know.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She nuzzled Alisaie’s neck as she stroked the younger woman’s back, feeling her shiver as the Miqo’te pressed them closer, brushing their bare breasts together.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“An entire suite, you say?” asked Alisaie, running her hands up Tetri’s back to caress her ears as she placed a kiss on her shoulder. “That sounds lovely, just for the bath alone, so I can finally be rid of this ever-present dust. Though I do wish to take full advantage of that bed, with you in it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, yes,” said Tetri, shivering as Alisaie dragged a hand down her back to stroke her tail. “I imagine you would. Your brother would like the same, I’m fairly certain.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie snorted in amusement. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m quite certain of that, as well,” she said. “After waiting weeks to see you again, it’s going to take all the magic I can muster to pry Alphinaud off of you. Why, I might not see you for a month!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Gods, listen to you,” said Tetri, chuckling, pulling back to look at Alisaie, stroking her cheek. “You two are quite the handful, my Leveilleurs. Not that I mind in the slightest.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm, </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> Leveilleurs. I do like the sound of that,” said Alisaie, grinning, leaning in to take Tetri’s lips in a heated kiss, the idea of belonging to her Warrior having reawakened her ardor. Tetri returned the kiss with enthusiasm, pulling Alisaie back down onto the bedroll and tangling the Elezen’s body with her own. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Though--</span>
  <em>
    <span>ah!</span>
  </em>
  <span>--I did want to ask you,” said Alisaie, gasping as Tetri ran her tongue over her silver earring before kissing the rest of her pointed ear, “did you have any thoughts on how to--</span>
  <em>
    <span>oh!</span>
  </em>
  <span>--d-divide our--our time with you…?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You two can draw straws,” said Tetri, dragging her lips down the Elezen’s neck, “or duel, or enjoy some good-natured sibling bickering. As long as I get to love you both, in the end.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of that, Warrior of Light, there can be no doubt,” Alisaie replied, and reached up to meet Tetri’s lips with her own. The two women then turned their attention to loving one another, worshipping each other’s bodies before falling into an exhausted slumber, wrapped in each other’s arms.   </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next morning (or what passed for it), Tetri watched with crossed arms, dressed in her full armor kit, her now-sharpened lance at her back, as Alisaie bid goodbye to Halric and the others at the Inn. Watching her embrace the withdrawn Au Ra boy with a sad smile, Tetri felt another swell of admiration for the young woman she had grown to love. How strong was Alisaie, to not blame Halric for the loss of Tesleen! A wave of love washed over Tetri, so strong she nearly swayed on her feet. Wise, as well as powerful, those were the Leveilleur twins. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Her</span>
  </em>
  <span> Leveilleur twins, now that she thought about it.     </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Our</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> pretty twins!</span>
  </em>
  <span> her dragon soul rumbled, coiled contentedly in her mind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ours!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” she said in agreement, grinning under her breath. “They are ours.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie gave her friends one last embrace, before dashing over to Tetri and grasping her by the arm, tugging her insistently to the Aetheryte. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Finally,” she said softly, so only Tetri could hear. “Let’s get the Seven Hells out of here!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tetri laughed, and together they walked over to the shimmering, floating crystal, attuning themselves to the Crystarium. As the familiar hum of Aetheryte energy surrounded them and they both floated upwards into the air, Alisaie smirked at her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you ever been kissed during an Aetheryte journey?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, but there’s a first time for everything,” replied Tetri, and the two women pressed their lips together just before they felt the familiar tug of Aetheryte transfer, a rush of energy and light before reappearing malms away in the Crystarium main plaza, floating down to the ground with their lips still locked together. Someone whistled at them, and Alisaie reluctantly broke the kiss, blushing until her flushed cheeks nearly matched the same shade of red as her skirt. She took Tetri’s hand, turning towards the crystal tower, where Alphinaud and the Crystal Exarch were surely waiting for their arrival.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alisaie looked up at Tetri, smiling, gripping her hand firmly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Come on, Tetri!" she said, her blue eyes shimmering once more, but Tetri could see it was with happiness, with not even a hint of sorrow. She felt herself break out into an echoing grin, unable to help it, and nodded, squeezing the Elezen's hand. Alisaie let out a joyous laugh, and yanked her forward towards the Crystarium's Dossal Gate.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Alisaie, wait!" she cried, laughing breathlessly as they both raced forward, towards the shimmering crystal tower that held the rest of their destiny. Yet, far from an oppressive weight, Tetri felt nothing in that moment but excitement, as they raced through the crowds of the Crystarium's throngs of denizens, who smiled at the pair as they pushed past them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>They don't see a Warrior of Light and a Scion,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought with wonder at the looks they were given, </span>
  <em>
    <span>only two people in love.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And wasn't that a true wonder, perhaps more wondrous than anything Tetri had yet seen before.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She laughed again and gripped Alisaie's hand even tighter as they ran together, her iron lance clanking against her back, feeling a rush of love and gratitude at the woman in front of her. More than ever, the Warrior of Light felt proud to call Alisaie Leveilleur--Red Mage of Eorzea--her lover, and a keeper of her heart!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! If you liked this chapter, feel free to let me know! Feedback is love.</p>
<p>Next chapter: "Urianger: The Astrologian's Confession"!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Crystal Exarch I: The Watcher (The Crystarium)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Crystal Exarch fights his growing obsession over the Warrior of Light, with little success. With every moment, his yearning grows stronger. As the Exarch works to put his plan in motion, hidden arcane forces stir behind the scenes, to challenge the deepest longings of his heart!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A/N, June 2020: Hi, friends! Due to a recent health issue (Not COVID-19, but serious) I unfortunately have to put this story ON TEMPORARY HIATUS. This work is not abandoned, as I have so much of it written, and I will pick it back up once I am suitably recovered. Likely after 5.3 launches, but you weren't here for canon, right? ;) Thanks for your patience and understanding! ~Draconic_Grace   </p><p>A/N: It's been a while! I apologize for the long wait with this chapter. Each chapter is averaging around 40-50 pages, so it's taking me 4-6 weeks for each one. I have actually split this chapter up into two parts, and the second is nearly done, so part II shouldn't take nearly as long to post. I hope it's worth the wait! </p><p>For those of you who are here for smut, there is a bit of Slow Burn in this chapter, to be resolved in part II. Don't worry, I will make it worth your while! ;)</p><p>Spoiler Warning: MAJOR Spoilers for all of Shadowbringers 5.0 in this chapter. If you haven't finished that expansion, please don't read! </p><p>Content Warning/Trigger Warning: There is Non-Consensual Voyeurism and Non-Consensual Mind Meld/Telepathy in this chapter. It's not prominent enough for me to include an actual Non-Con warning, but relevant tags have been added.    </p><p>Other than that--Please enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Crystal Exarch would have been lying to himself if he thought he wasn't spying on her. He didn't bother trying to convince himself otherwise. He knew he was spying on the Warrior of Light, and what's more, he actively enjoyed it. Not the lying part, he didn't like lying to her at all. The subterfuge was a necessary evil that brought him no pleasure, least of all to whom he was now lying to regularly--no, daily, at this point. It rankled him, ate away at his sense of self, both whom he knew himself to be, now, and the man he used to be centuries ago. He was many things, had been many things in his life--a passable warrior, a better scholar, and, finally, a powerful mage--but being a liar was a more recent development.</p><p> </p><p>The Exarch didn't like it, of course, but neither did he like the worlds of the First and the Source being destroyed with its peoples annihilated. So he had justified his lies, and no one could convince him otherwise. He had no one to hold his counsel, and so he had to keep his own, out of necessity. No one could be trusted with the whole of his plan; the world in which the shared plan had been crafted no longer existed, and neither did its people, with a new future yet to be written, and he had to honor the sacrifice of those he had crafted it with, by being ultimately victorious. The Exarch knew he was on the right side of history, despite the fact that no one would remember him when he was done, but he was not doing this to build his legacy, only to ensure others had theirs.</p><p> </p><p>As he would no longer be alive when his plan reached fruition, the Crystal Exarch took his pleasures where he could find them, and they mainly centered on watching the Warrior of Light. He was a fool for loving her, he knew that, but he couldn’t help it, not after several centuries alone. He cherished the moments he got to spend in his Warrior’s proximity, even though the Exarch knew he could not allow himself to truly get close to her, at least not in the way he wanted. Even physically, when he had to interact with her for the sake of his plan, he tried to keep his distance from Tetri as much as he could help it, keeping his phrases almost terse and with little substance, lest he betray any onze of indication that he knew her. He <em> wanted </em> her to know, that was the problem. The Miqo'te woman's presence near him strained his control on his best days. On his worst, it was all he could do to grip his staff and grit his teeth, fighting his urge to rip off the cowl covering his face, to show Tetri that he was <em> not </em> gone, that her dear friend was <em> not </em> dead or still in slumber beneath Syrcus Tower.</p><p> </p><p>In his dark moods, when the Crystal Exarch avoided sleep in his Umbilicus chamber, hating the threads of Fate that bound him to his future demise, he entertained dark thoughts, thoughts of showing up to his Warrior's rooms in the Pendants, of begging her for her love. Of falling on his knees and pleading to have just one night with her, so that the memory of their love could follow him into the void of the Rift, comforting him as his soul was ripped apart. Those thoughts naturally led further, for his thoughts were all he had, and they were detailed. He would have her strip him, slowly, have Tetri unwrap his robes and cowl from him like he was her long-awaited gift for Starlight Festival, until he was finally naked and bare before her. He imagined the dragoon's callused fingertips on his flesh, tingling even where crystal had formed on his skin, imagined her fingers dragging downwards, low over his belly until they wrapped around his cock.</p><p> </p><p>He always took himself in hand, at this point, shifting his robes over his hips to free his cock to the open air, imagining his soft palm was instead the rough, battle-hardened skin of his Warrior. He imagined she would be good at stroking him to completion by hand alone, her proficiency at the lance naturally translating to increased dexterity in the bedroom, but that was only an assumption. The Crystal Exarch would give nearly anything to learn the reality of having her, for real, even if it were just her hands on him, but he tried not to think those thoughts as he thrust into his hand, for his disappointment and frustrated longing easily destroyed his ardor. He would drag his palm along his entire length, slowly, sometimes licking the center of his hand first, imagining he was thrusting inside her wet folds instead, and that was always best, that was always what made him reach his peak. Nothing else did; the Exarch had tried for weeks, ever since he had successfully brought her to the world of the First. </p><p> </p><p>Tonight was one of those nights where he watched her on his crystal screen in what passed for evening, yearning for his own release but holding himself back. He had been watching her sleep, watched her twitch in slumber in her bed in the Pendants. The Exarch rarely slept anyway; something about the Allagan magics that had kept him in slumber for centuries, plus the whole debacle of time travel, had apparently altered his mind for good, and he now hated sleep as it was. He much preferred this, watching over his Warrior on his crystal screen, imagining he could hold her in his arms, feeling the warmth of her body against him, inhaling her comforting scent, her breath mingling with his. He did not touch himself while she was like this, while she was sleeping peacefully, would not allow himself to, not when he knew the peace of sleep eluded even her. Unlike himself, the Exarch knew Tetri actually needed her rest if she was to fight her battles and win.</p><p> </p><p>While he watched her sleep, it was easy for the Crystal Exarch to reminisce on their early days together. Even back when he was known as G'raha T'ia, and they had been just two adventurers exploring Syrcus Tower, he recalled that Tetri had struggled with frequent bouts of insomnia, a manifestation of the strain of her newfound duty as Warrior of Light. It was during their mutual inability to find sleep that they forged their bond of friendship, staying up late in each others' tents, drinking Gridanian wine and Ishgardian brandy, swapping tales like adventurers did.</p><p> </p><p>It was during such times of idle pleasure that his Warrior of Light had given him the gift of her birth name, when they had both been deep in their cups and he had made an ass of himself by asking her questions about her upbringing in Thanalan that he knew she would rather not have answered. Yet, the purple-haired Miqo'te had honored his boundless curiosity, even still, entertained the folly of his youth while he had been a scholar, ravenous for any sort of knowledge, a hunger that served him well as a mage but not as a man. As a man, the Warrior of Light had inspired a different hunger in him, the hunger of the flesh, a lustful ache no food would quell, that no drink would stave away. G'raha had wanted her back then, too, had wanted to kiss Tetri, to taste the brandy on her lips, to swallow the gold of her laughter. He had wanted to be the Miqo'te man that could prove to her, once and for all, that they were not all as selfish and conniving as her Nuhn had been. </p><p> </p><p>The Exarch put his crystal hand to his chin in thought, feeling himself fall deeper into his memories. Before joining the Circle of Knowing, G’raha had accepted the surname of T’ia without complaint or shame when he had come of age, uninterested in challenging his birth tribe’s own Nuhn. An intellectual and thoughtful person, even as an adolescent, G’raha had found the annual infighting over harem wives and Nuhn rulership distasteful and culturally backwards. The disapproval of his tribal members over his then-mismatched eyes was, he recognized in hindsight, just a further excuse to dismiss him from the tribe for good. It was an eventuality he had expected and, once it arrived, he found he in fact welcomed the opportunity to leave, in order to find his own path. Once he had declined the challenge from his own Nuhn, he had said his necessary goodbyes to his family and friends, taken his bow and quiver, and left with a spring in his step. Then his journey had led him to the Circle of Knowing, to Syrcus Tower, and, finally, to Tetri’s side.</p><p> </p><p>Those first few days on the road by himself, G’raha had finally felt liberated from a warped tribal mentality that had never suited him. It was a feeling that had made him feel even closer to the Warrior of Light, for she, too, had left her birth tribe of her own accord, had struck out on her own, even claimed a new name for herself. More than that admiration, though, G'raha had wanted to love her, just as they were, with the springtime light of youth's first love blooming in his heart.</p><p> </p><p>He had been with other lovers before, of course, and had even thought he was in love with some of them, men and women both. Yet it had not been this all-encompassing burst of passionate longing, so hot it felt like it seared him from within, making him burn with want to the tips of his ears and tail. G'raha had felt himself in freefall at the mere glance from the Warrior of Light, her touch on his arm or shoulder making him fight the urge to clutch the Miqo'te woman in his arms, to take her lips with his. If she had shared his sentiment (and if he had even dared to share it with her at the time), he would have thrown her to the floor of her tent and shared a mutually furious bout of lovemaking with her.</p><p> </p><p>During the day he had busied himself with the demands of adventuring, savoring the group's discoveries in the Tower, but deep down he couldn't wait for nightfall to join Tetri in her tent, or for her to join him in his, to have that moment of cherished closeness with her, to savor the time she spent with him alone. G'raha had wanted to tell her he was in love with her. At night, when she left his tent for her own, when their heads were both still buzzing from the tartness of Ishgardian brandy, he tossed and turned in his bedroll, damning the confines of his personal destiny that demanded he follow the invisible currents of ancient Allag to their completion. To the secrets that he knew were his birthright, that damned crimson eye staring him in the face when he looked in the mirror, linking him to the inevitable. G'raha wanted to follow the Warrior of Light, instead! He wanted to follow her on her journey as her confidante, her comrade in arms, her lover.</p><p> </p><p><em> To hell with destiny! </em> he had thought, ears and tail thrashing as he fought to sleep, with a young man's logic, informed only by the frivolous logic of youth that has time enough left to make mistakes. <em> I want to be with her! I love her! </em></p><p> </p><p>Those thoughts of his were always followed by images of stuttering darkness, shadows closing upon his mind at the bridge between waking and slumber, and even back then he could swear he saw glimpses of a possible future, what would come to pass if he did not meet his destiny in the Tower. He saw Eorzea in ruins, its peoples dying, the jaws of sineaters closing around the distant, terrified peoples of the First. And so, G'raha had held his tongue and hid his feelings from the Warrior of Light after all, not because he wanted her any less, but because he could not bear to unleash that future upon them all by refusing to become what destiny demanded of him.</p><p> </p><p><em> You have your duty, Tetri, </em> he had thought as he made a final, bitter turn away from her, <em> and I have mine. </em> He walked up to the tower with a smile on his face that fell as soon as his eyes left hers, feeling goosebumps rise on his arms as the doors to Syrcus Tower gaped open to swallow him whole. </p><p> </p><p>Knowing Tetri would live kept him from shaking as the great crystal and brass doors closed behind him, as he settled within the dead quiet of the tower's still walls, as the sleep of aeons enclosed his mind and body, with every vein and blood cell steadily filling with the magical power of the Allagan ruling family. Syrcus Tower became G'raha's chrysalis, and the butterfly of the Crystal Exarch was born the moment he awakened and emerged into the First, beginning the journey that would create the Crystarium and the long fight back against the sin eaters and their Lightwardens.  </p><p> </p><p>The Crystal Exarch grimaced as his mind resurfaced to the present moment, and he let his crystal hand drop to hang loosely by his side. He stared at his Warrior sleep, and felt his heart throb with longing that would never be fulfilled, full of love he could never share with the one he wanted most. He could not doom both of their worlds to destruction; he could not tell Tetri he loved her. The Exarch gripped his staff tightly in bitter frustration. If it had not been expertly made, of gold and brass and enchanted with a magic that was aeons-old, the weapon may have crumbled in his hand from how tightly he gripped it.</p><p> </p><p>As the Exarch fumed in the bitterness of his centuries-long unrequited love, the temptation once again arose within him, to use his magic on the sleeping Warrior for decidedly unethical ends. He wanted to touch her mind with his magic, to touch her in some way, to dive beneath the surface of her sleeping consciousness, to experience her memories. By doing so, the Exarch could know Tetri further, know how she had grown and changed over the years, while he had slept in the tower, while the powers of Allag had created him anew. After all, as the Crystal Exarch he was not a friend to her, just a mysterious mage that had torn her friends’ souls from their bodies to the First, before taking her, too, across the Rift to his world by force. This was, perhaps, the only way he could touch her for real. </p><p> </p><p>As soon as that thought arose, however, the Exarch choked down a wave of self-loathing, and he felt his ears fall flat against his head in revulsion. How could he want to do such a thing, to force his way into Tetri’s mind without her permission?! It was disgusting! He couldn’t do that to someone he loved, someone he cared about, his oldest and dearest friend! It was bad enough he watched her sleep, watched the dragoon move about the Crystarium and Lakeland while she completed the tasks he himself was asking of her! He was violating her privacy daily, spying on her, leading her on with his lies, in service to his scheme, and he wanted more from her, even still. The Exarch was certain that the younger version of himself would not recognize who he had become. And still, in his greed for Tetri, the Exarch could not force himself to stop, for he knew how it ended, even if she did not. It ended with his death. </p><p> </p><p><em> Why can I not love you like this, Tetri, at least from afar? </em> he mused, enjoying the look of deep relaxation on the Miqo’te woman’s face on the crystal screen before him, warring between his want to sink into her sleeping mind, and his sense of ethics and propriety. <em> I’m going to die for you, soon enough. Can I not have even this? </em>         </p><p> </p><p>He was a stranger to his beloved, though, a stranger in an even stranger world on the edge of complete collapse. She owed him nothing, least of all access to her mind and heart. He asked her to fight for him, to put herself and her friends, the Scions, in harm’s way in his battle to save the First (and, thereby, the Source and Eorzea) from the sin eaters. He knew Tetri was up to the task, that was not the issue. He had enjoyed battling with her in Holminster Switch, seeing just how vastly her fighting skills had improved, even as he had simultaneously mourned the massive loss of life as the village and its people had been annihilated by the sin eaters. </p><p> </p><p>He did not get to battle often, but he had been at the crystal tower long enough to expend that much of his energy safely, and it had been worth it to unleash his wrath upon the infernal light demons, as well as to battle by Tetri’s side once more. Helping her slay the lightwarden had made the Exarch feel more alive than he had in years, watching her leap in the air, aglow with dragonfire, her deadly lance aloft and glistening with the blood of slain sin eaters. He had watched her land the final blow, killing the massive demon with a wild roar. He had watched as she had subsequently absorbed the lightwarden’s accursed aether, sending it upwards into the sky, rending the light of the Flood asunder with a mighty crack, returning the night to Lakeland once more! The sight had brought tears to the Exarch’s eyes; after centuries of scheming, his plan was bearing the fruits of hope for this blighted world! All it would cost to save them all, in the end...was his life, and Tetri’s respect for him.</p><p> </p><p>At that thought, the Exarch frowned as he felt another wave of self-loathing rise up in his breast. He felt his ears flatten against the sides of his head in frustration, and his tail twisted behind him in muted anger as he revisited the memory of his Warrior’s recent return. When Tetri had returned to the Crystarium from Ahm Araeng just a few days prior, hand in hand with fellow Scion Alisaie Leveilleur, the Crystal Exarch had merely thought the two women to have a close bond of friendship, forged in the camaraderie that often naturally arose between comrades and adventurers, in war as well as exploration. Over the months since her arrival in the First, Alisaie had told him about the war to free Ala Mhigo and Doma from the Garlean Empire, a tale he had listened to with rapt attention. From her story, the Exarch had realized, with no small measure of satisfaction, that Tetri’s fighting spirit had not been diluted in the slightest by the struggle of  the Dragonsong War in Ishgard. If anything, her experiences had only seemed to heighten her resolve during the subsequent struggle to free Doma and Ala Mhigo, as well as improving her skill with the lance and her leaps of dragonfire. It had encouraged his own determination to bring her to the First, certain that his Warrior was indeed the key to salvation of the First, and prevention of the Eighth Umbral Calamity. </p><p> </p><p>So the Exarch had barely been able to fight the utter shock that had flowed through him, startling beneath his cowl as he had watched Alisaie pull the Miqo’te woman down for a passionate kiss, right in front of him in the Ocular! Tetri had startled, her long tail bristling, pulling away gently but insistently, blushing and squeezing the Elezen woman’s hand, and looking sheepishly at the Exarch, shrugging as if in apology for the two women’s brazen public display of affection. The Exarch had clenched his fists tight around his staff, his blood grown hot with jealousy and longing. Alphinaud had merely laughed, greeting his wayward twin with a hug.</p><p> </p><p>“Dear sister,” he said, “it’s good to see you back, at last! Finally had enough of the desert?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hello, dear brother,” Alisaie replied, returning her twin’s hug with a pat on the back before they separated. “And yes, I’ve had enough of Ahm Araeng to last several lifetimes, in fact. I especially won’t miss the dust covering every ilm of my person.”</p><p> </p><p>“Indeed,” replied Alphinaud with a laugh. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, the open plains in Kholusia also left a lot to be desired. It was difficult enough to sleep on the open ground every night, let alone sneak into Eulmore.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmmm,” said his sister, looking him up and down with a mischievous gleam in her eye. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, it seems like it worked out after all, Alphinaud,” she continued. “Not only did you get a nice new outfit on your journey, but from what I’ve heard from Tetri so far, it seems you had a good enough reason not to sleep well.” </p><p> </p><p>Alphinaud blushed in embarrassment, his cheeks turning beet red. He rubbed the back of his head and laughed. </p><p> </p><p>“Ah!--yes, well,” he said, stuttering and looking at Tetri, who smiled and shrugged at him, also blushing lightly, a light dusting of red covering her cheeks beneath her facial markings. </p><p> </p><p>“Hello, Alphinaud,” she said, walking up to him and enveloping him in a tight hug. Alphinaud closed his eyes and clung to her, stroking her lower back lightly. The Exarch tightened his hold on his staff as he watched them embrace beneath his cowl, watching as Alphinaud dragged his fingers nearly to the base of her tail, before seeming to think better of it and taking his hands away as they stepped apart. The Exarch thought it was a familiar touch upon her, with a layer of concealed passion, more of a caress than the embrace of mere friends.</p><p> </p><p><em> Did she take both of the Leveilleurs as her lovers, before they arrived in the First?! </em> he thought, his jealousy simmering beneath his skin, unabated. <em> Neither of them even so much as indicated such a possibility to me, in all the past year they have been here! Surely I would have known, otherwise! </em> The Exarch seethed as he continued watching his Warrior’s tender reunion with her fellow Scions.</p><p> </p><p>“I missed you, Tetri,” said Alphinaud softly, taking her hands in his, oblivious to the Exarch’s scrutiny as he looked deep into his lover’s eyes. Tetri smiled at him, her long ears twitching, and squeezed his hands gently, stroking the back of his fingers.</p><p> </p><p>“I missed you too, Alphinaud,” she replied, leaning down to place a kiss on his lips. She startled again as Alphinaud deepened the kiss insistently, refusing to let her pull away, before relinquishing her lips with some reluctance, still holding her hands in his. The Miqo’te and Elezen smiled at each other, blushing and grinning like idiots. The Crystal Exarch fought an urge to scream, his tail thrashing beneath his robes. He took a deep breath as he watched Tetri let go of Alphinaud’s hands and turned to him, instead.</p><p> </p><p>“Exarch,” she said, nodding towards him in polite greeting, her face still red, her lips swollen from kisses. The Miqo’te woman smiled at him, looking at him with a challenge in her ruby eyes, as if daring him to comment on her two exchanges with the Leveilleur twins, who also turned to look at him. The Exarch swallowed, choking down his angry jealousy. He forced a dry smile on his face, one that she and the twins could just barely see beneath his cowl.</p><p> </p><p>“Tetri,” he replied, “welcome back to the Crystarium. I’m glad to see you’ve reunited with your fellow Scions.” </p><p> </p><p>He nodded towards her, respectfully. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure you’re tired from your journey, having been in Ahm Araeng for over a week’s time,” he said. “Your suite at the Pendants has been maintained in your absence. I’ve ensured everything is well stocked for you, and I’ve arranged dinner to be delivered to you later tonight. If you need anything, at all, please let one of the attendants know, and we’ll take care of it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, Tetri, yes, let’s go!” cried Alisaie, her azure eyes gleaming in excitement. She ran up and wrapped her arm around Tetri’s, looking up at her. </p><p> </p><p>“You promised me that long bath, after all,” she said, and grinned wickedly at Tetri as she stroked a hand up the taller woman’s arm. “You also mentioned it’s big enough for two!”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah--w-well, Alisaie, let’s--talk about this later, if you don’t mind,” said Tetri, stammering and blushing at Alisaie’s shameless flirting. Despite her previous words to Alisaie during their night together, it was clear Tetri was a bit shy under the Exarch’s gaze. Alisaie rolled her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, Tetri,” she said, “but let’s get dinner early, tonight, then! A hot meal beats dried rations out in the desert, any day!” </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Alisaie, I want to have dinner with Tetri, too!” said Alphinaud, running up to the pair and taking Tetri’s other hand in his. The Miqo’te looked down at him to find him grinning up at her beneath ivory bangs, his blue eyes gleaming at the excitement of seeing her again. “I spent the past week reading about the history of the Flood,” he said, “looking for clues about the use of magic in the First. I must say, as much as I enjoy research, I could sorely use a break from these past few days. Is it alright if I join you both?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, Alphinaud,” said Tetri, squeezing his hand. “Dinner will do us all good, I imagine.”</p><p> </p><p>“Great, that’s settled. Now let’s go!” said Alisaie, yanking Tetri towards the exit from the Ocular by the arm. </p><p> </p><p>“Bye, Exarch,” she cried as she and her brother grinned at each other and rapidly hustled the Warrior of Light out the door so fast that her spear clattered against her armor. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, wait--you two…!” said Tetri, grousing in mild irritation, but it was clear she wasn’t as bothered as she sounded. She looked back at the Exarch apologetically as the three reached the doorway. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Exarch,” she said. “We’ll meet up soon to talk about our next steps!” </p><p> </p><p>The Exarch nodded at the Warrior of Light.<br/><br/></p><p>“I look forward to it, Tetri,” he said, and then she was gone, as the Leveilleur twins pulled her through the doors, which slammed shut, leaving the Exarch alone once more.</p><p> </p><p>The Crystal Exarch sighed as he focused once more on the present, raising his crystal hand to his chin in thought. Tetri had spent a few days on her own with the Leveilleur twins, having a well-deserved few days rest, and he had busied himself with his duties overseeing the Crystarium, in order to distract himself from thoughts of his Warrior. It had almost worked, and speaking with the citizenry he was responsible for protecting helped, but at night the Exarch had found himself once more consumed with his frustrated longing, as well as anxiety over his fate. Lyna stopped by most nights and ensured that he ate dinner, apt as he was to forget more often than not, as well as threatening him with a sleeping draught from Bragi if he didn’t sleep. He retired to bed, for Lyna’s sake, but tossed and turned, his mind endlessly racing. Then, at the same time Tetri and the twins met with him once more in the Ocular, Lyna had come bearing news of the attack on Holminster Switch, and the Exarch had found himself battling at Tetri’s side. </p><p> </p><p>The battle had seemed to take a lot out of her, for once, and the Exarch had received reports from the attendants at the Pendants that Tetri was spending ample time resting from their ordeal in Holminster. From what he could tell from watching her at various times in his crystal screen since the battle, it was possible the Warrior of Light was experiencing additional physical fatigue from her absorption of the slain Lightwarden’s aether. As he watched her sleep deeply, the Exarch reminded himself to research effects of the Flood on personal aetheric fields in the coming days. As his plan progressed, he had to ensure Tetri’s aether remained intact enough to slay the rest of the Lightwardens. If there was some modification of his plan, he would need to implement it early enough to avoid suspicion by Tetri or the rest of the Scions. </p><p> </p><p>The Exarch looked up, watching Tetri sleep on his crystal screen, snoring softly and twitching in her bed in the Pendants. Her face was smoothed out in relaxation, peaceful, without the weight of the world that her duty placed upon her shoulders. A strand of purple and white hair drifted across her forehead, almost covering the facial markings there, her hair messy from turning in her sleep. The Exarch walked up to the screen and placed his crystal hand on her image, his fingers itching to brush that lock of hair from her forehead. As he did so, he felt his magic press against her mind gently, the threads of his crystalline aether reaching out on instinct towards the Warrior of Light as his crystal hand came in direct contact with the tower. Tetri murmured wordlessly in her sleep at the touch, her ears twitching. </p><p> </p><p>The Exarch yanked his hand back at once, as if burned. He had just told himself he would <em> not </em> do such a thing! It was bad enough the Miqo’te dragoon didn’t trust him completely as a result of his secrecy; he didn’t need to give her any additional reasons to refuse her trust, what portions were grudgingly given to him out of necessity. Yet, as the Crystal Exarch remembered watching Alphinaud and Alisaie kiss the Warrior of Light right in front of him, he felt his sense of propriety waver, his heart lurching with jealousy and the greed of his centuries-long yearning. The Exarch felt himself surrender to his wanting, felt his resolve crumble beneath it. </p><p> </p><p><em> Perhaps just a moment or two, </em> the Exarch told himself as he looked at her. <em> This will change nothing, between us, if I touch her mind for a moment. </em> He knew it was wrong, but he could not stop himself. His need was too great. As if in a dream, he felt himself walk forward on leaden limbs, reaching up with his crystal hand and placing it upon the image of Tetri’s face, once more. A surge of aetheric power flowed through his veins, rushing upwards through his crystal hand, and pressed upon Tetri’s sleeping consciousness gently. </p><p> </p><p>The Exarch uttered a gasp of pleasure, closing his eyes and bending his head backwards, his ears flattening against the sides of his head as he felt his magic stroke gently against her mind. Her aetheric field shimmered in his mind’s eye, a kaleidoscope of colors, the intensity of her blessing of light shining through even the barest magical contact. Beneath it, the Crystal Exarch could perceive a roiling surge of magical heat, tinged blue and crimson, fierce and writhing serpentine across Tetri’s mind: her dragon soul! It was intoxicating, intriguing. Dimly, the Exarch felt himself shaking, his length hardening beneath his robes as he continued to touch her mind. He wanted more, he <em> needed </em> more of her!                        </p><p> </p><p>He uttered a soft groan as he felt her aether reflected back to him at his insistent contact, as that same magical heat rushed through his mind and over his body, tingling over his skin, building his desire to a fever pitch. He thrust his hips into the air instinctually, now fully hard and throbbing within his smalls. The Exarch made no move to touch himself, however, overwhelmed as he was with his Warrior’s aether flowing over him. He thought, with distant awe, that this was the mere surface of her mind! What would happen if he pressed deeper? </p><p> </p><p>He fought the impulse, briefly, before stroking once more against her mind, eager for greater contact between them. His ears twitched as he heard Tetri moan softly in her sleep, and the sound went straight to his cock, which twitched against his stomach in interest. The Exarch took a shaky breath, pressing his fingers harder against the crystal screen as he pressed his mind deeper into hers. He heard the Warrior of Light moan again as he felt the surface of her mind finally give, yielding to the insistent touch of his aether, and the Exarch moaned loudly as he felt her mind envelop his, his body resonating with pleasure as the aether of his beloved surrounded him. Heat and light surrounded him, washing over him with such intensity he thought he might come untouched, already near his peak from the sensation alone.</p><p> </p><p>Then he was drifting along her mind, surveying her memories. Her recent trips to Kholusia and Ahm Araeng swirled about, images of her experiences shining like reflections in crystal. The Exarch reached forward for her memory of Kholusia first, wanting to feel what he had not glimpsed when he had watched her there. He touched that memory with his mind, sank into it--</p><p> </p><p>--<em> Tetri sighed as Alphinaud moved into her again, and she wrapped her arms and legs about him, running her tail over his lower back, feeling him shiver in her arms. Impatient, she pulled him down with her dragoon’s strength, pressing his shorter body completely into her as he buried himself to the hilt inside her. </em></p><p>
  <em> “Ah!  Tetri…” Alphinaud sighed at the heavenly feeling of her body tightening around his, jolting as the Miqo’te reached up to kiss him softly on the mouth. </em>
</p><p><em> ...the two Scions groaned together in abandon… </em>--</p><p> </p><p>--the Exarch jolted his mind back out of the memory as he heard himself gasp in dismay, the sound muffled as if hearing himself through a wall. So, she <em> had </em> taken Alphinaud as her lover, after all! The earlier feeling of self-loathing arose once more in the Exarch, his disgust with himself marring the pleasure he felt even as he remained immersed in Tetri’s mind. Even worse than feeling his Warrior’s enjoyment at making love to her fellow Scion, was the adoration the Exarch had felt from her towards the young Elezen. The Crystal Exarch had always wished to have that adoration turned towards himself, instead. Guilt and shame rose up within him, as he was starkly reminded of the love he would never have. </p><p> </p><p><em> I deserve this, </em> he thought, as he felt the sting of guilt dull the physical senses of his body, his ardor rapidly fading. <em> I should not have done this, I should not have invaded her mind! </em>   </p><p> </p><p>He loosened his hold on her mind, preparing to retreat, when he caught another reflection of memory, tinged red with the desert dust of Ahm Araeng. The Exarch reached forward despite his conflicting emotions, sinking into the memory, wanting one last glimpse of Tetri before he retreated fully--</p><p> </p><p>--<em> “Everyone’s going to be able to see those,” said Alisaie, tugging on Tetri’s hair until the older woman raised her head to smirk at her.  </em></p><p>
  <em> “I know,” she said with a low growl. “I want everyone to see that you’re mine.”   </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Including the Exarch?” replied Alisaie, arching her brows at her lover. Tetri burst out with a laugh, her tail waving through the air.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Including him, that secretive bastard,” she said, nuzzling her thighs. “So what if he knows? He dragged you all here, including myself, caught us all up in this mess. This war. We’ve seen it all before. Let him stew, if my lovers bother him. I don’t mind watching him squirm beneath his robes.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “He’s obsessed with you, Tetri. I don’t really know why.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tetri snorted, shaking her head slightly.  </em>
</p><p><em> “He can get in line, then, I suppose,” she said. “If he has questions about me, he should ask me himself. If we didn’t need the Exarch to get us all home, I wouldn’t trust the man to tell me the truth about anything. He has too many secrets, Alisiae. I don’t like it. So let him know. I’ll enjoy watching him squirm, and you should too. In fact, I’m going to make you squirm, right now!” </em>--</p><p> </p><p>--The Exarch severed his aether from Tetri’s abruptly as he relinquished his hold on her mind, briefly checking for any lasting damage he may have caused, before yanking his consciousness out of hers as fast as he could. He found himself back in his body, panting, leaning on the crystal wall before him where he normally placed his crystal screen. He could feel his body covered in a thin sheen of sweat beneath his robes, and his stomach churned with nausea over what he had seen as the Miqo’te man regained his bearings. He felt the burn of tears building in his eyes, felt them drift down his face as his heart grew numb with shame and guilt at what he had done.</p><p> </p><p>So, Alisaie was also her lover, then; the Exarch couldn’t say he was surprised, all things considered. He had expected as much from the two women’s passionate kiss on the day of their return, but still, he had wanted to deny the truth of what he had seen. He hadn’t wanted to accept yet more evidence of what he couldn’t have. The Crystal Exarch knew deep down that he shouldn’t have been jealous of the Leveilleur twins. They were Tetri’s close friends and comrades in arms, veterans of the same wars and battles as the Warrior of Light. They had been fighting by her side at every turn, while the Exarch had slept in his crystal tower awaiting the end of their worlds. They had a bond of love and trust he had never known with the dragoon, even as G’raha T’ia; his destiny had kept him from growing closer to Tetri. </p><p> </p><p>No matter how he viewed his previous friendship with the Warrior of Light, it was now clear to the Exarch that he would never obtain her trust, let alone her love, especially not the kind she felt for the twins. The Crystal Exarch had done nothing to build trust between them, and Tetri had every right to be suspicious of him. Still, for all that her mistrust of him was well deserved on his part, her words she had spoken about him in her memory had wounded the Exarch to his core. He uttered a sob of anguish, then, the crushing loneliness he tried to keep at bay rising up to smother him, and with it, self-doubt. </p><p>      </p><p>Everything he had worked towards, thus far, for the very salvation of their worlds, rested on his ability to be strong enough to shoulder his personal burden of secrecy towards his Warrior and her Scions. The Crystal Exarch had never felt as weak as he did in that moment; in the past two hundred years, he had never felt more despondent. He took a shaky breath before stepping back, his grip on his staff steadying him, walking backwards until he could see Tetri still asleep on the screen before him. He could see she now had a small smile on her face, perhaps from the memories he had plucked to the forefront of her mind. The Exarch felt himself tremble, crying silently in guilt-ridden grief, gripping his staff even tighter as he stared at the woman he loved. He felt his latent jealousy and self-hatred bubble up into a tide of anger.</p><p> </p><p>"Let me <em> stew, </em> Tetri?" he muttered, feeling his rage boil over, wanting to hurl his staff against the wall and see it shatter, shaking all over. "Stew over you and your lovers? Over your newfound <em> 'love?' </em> Why should I, when those two clearly have no idea what <em> real </em> love is?"</p><p> </p><p>His voice growing louder, the Exarch was glad he had waited until the dead of observed evening to have his meltdown, knowing he could not deal with it any other way, could not help watching Tetri even still. Watching her sleep with a smile on her face, a smile he hadn't caused, could never bring about, filled him with rage, and the Exarch let it overflow.</p><p> </p><p>"Let me <em> stew. </em> By the gods, the godsdamned nerve! <em> I'm </em> the one who <em> loves </em> you, Tetri!" he shouted at her image on the crystal screen, feeling his crimson eyes fill with tears. </p><p> </p><p>"Don't you see that?!” he cried out. “Don't you hear it in my voice when we speak? I'm the one who's going to <em> DIE FOR YOU! </em> I'm going to die and you're going to be the last thing I see! And you're going to hate me for lying to you, that's all you'll remember, but you'll be alive, and I'll be dead, because <em> I LOVE YOU </em> , Tetri! Godsdamn it, <em> godsdamn you! </em> Why are you <em> doing this to me?! </em>"</p><p> </p><p>The Crystal Exarch fell to the floor, letting his staff fall and clatter to the ground beside him, and crumpled over, weeping, his voice so hoarse he could no longer speak, let alone scream further. He folded his arms over his head, sobbing, his tears soaking into the folds of his cowl, the ache of his loneliness and unrequited longing making his heart throb with pain. For the first time, he longed for the abyss of the Rift, so he would be free of the misery of wanting someone he could not have. To be free of his personal hell that was loving the Warrior of Light.</p><p> </p><p>* * *</p><p> </p><p>The Exarch awoke alone on the floor some time later--approximately four bells from when he had collapsed into a stupor from his grief, from what he could tell from the thrum of the tower’s magic about him. In addition to being the seat of his power, his sense of time was most accurate when he was enclosed within the tower walls. Normally, this always brought him a sense of distinct empowerment, but as the Crystal Exarch slowly clambered to his feet, bending down once more to retrieve his staff, he felt nothing except completely drained, physically as well as emotionally. His eyes itched from crying, his throat hoarse from shouting. The Exarch sighed to himself in irritation, his red ears twitching as he straightened out his robes and pulled his cowl over his face, hiding his features once more. </p><p> </p><p>The crystal screen was blank, having lost the connection with the Exarch and his magic when he had fallen asleep. He considered it a small mercy, having no desire to see Tetri’s face and be reminded of the violation he had inflicted upon her by entering her mind without her consent. She was likely up and about, anyway, perhaps even spending time with her Leveilleur twins. At the thought, the Exarch fought against another wave of bitter guilt at the memories he had inadvertently witnessed, and made for the Umbilicus where he kept his private collection of books. He had no intention of leaving the tower today, not after what he had done, and he didn’t want to see anyone else, especially the Warrior of Light and her Scions. More sleep was out of the question; his previous “nap,” while not ideal, had given his body enough rest for the meanwhile. The Exarch resolved to research the effects of accursed Light aether on personal aetheric fields, as he had reminded himself to. Once settled at his desk in the Umbilicus, surrounded by his tomes, the Miqo’te man began to feel more like himself. </p><p> </p><p><em> Saving both of our worlds, as well as her life, will surely make up for it, </em> he told himself, and the truth of that statement allowed the Exarch to refocus his attention, remembering the cause and meaning of his struggle, though his guilt remained, and he knew it was deserved. It was still a mistake-- <em> his </em> mistake--but Tetri was the only individual who could give him forgiveness for that particular slight against her, in addition to his lies. He had checked on her, quickly, before he had left for the Umbilicus, and she had been eating breakfast (or was it lunch?) with the twins, smiling and laughing with the two Elezen in her room. The Warrior of Light seemed none the worse for wear as a result of his illicit foray into her mind, and that made the Exarch feel a bit better, though not by much; the fault of violation was still his own.  </p><p> </p><p><em> I may as well earn her forgiveness, </em> he thought, and concentrated on the task before him, opening a book from his pile of nearby tomes. Several more bells passed in such a matter, as the Exarch lost himself in scholarly pursuit of knowledge. He found he still enjoyed it, though his days in the Students of Baldesion were long over. Despite the appeal of his endeavor, this particular avenue of research had yielded little fruit: so few people of the First had survived the initial arrival of the sin eaters, that there was few observation by magical scholars on how the demons’ Light aether affected individuals who remained alive after such an encounter, save those who were summarily turned into sin eaters themselves. </p><p> </p><p>In a different tome altogether (his fifth of the evening), the Exarch read of some mages, three centuries prior to his arrival in the First, that had observed a shift in aetheric fields after closely watching those lucky few warriors who were capable of slaying a sin eater. However, such a shift was concluded by those same mages to be due to the proximity of the person to the sin eaters’ warped aether, and the aberrant shift quickly cleared after the sin eaters had been slain. The Exarch grumbled to himself, biting the thumbnail on his hand not covered in crystal. It looked like, as he had surmised so long ago, that there was no way to otherwise clear the accursed aether of the Lightwardens from Tetri, once she had already absorbed it, besides taking it himself into the Rift. Such aether was simply too powerful, too corrupting, on the aether of the soul. He had hoped for otherwise, hidden in one of his books, but so far it was all for naught. The way forward remained the same: his death, for Tetri’s life. His end, for the survival of the First and the Source. </p><p> </p><p><em> I am still in the right of things, </em> he thought to himself. <em> With Tetri’s help, we can still prevent the Eighth Umbral Calamity! </em> The Exarch sighed in resigned exhaustion, closing his books and getting up from his desk. He didn’t regret the hours he had spent researching; on the contrary, despite the lack of findings that he had originally wanted, reading the recounts of the savage brutality and merciless hunger of the sin eaters had strengthened his will to see his plan through. As a result, the Crystal Exarch felt calmer than he had in the past day, his self-doubt nearly evaporated. All of this merely confirmed that this wasn’t about him or Tetri alone. It would take a concerted effort between his powers, the Warrior of Light, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, and Lyna and their allies, to ultimately save their worlds. </p><p> </p><p>As the Crystal Exarch walked into his bathroom and drew himself a bath in his large marble tub (being heir to the Allagan empire did have some perks, after all), he reminded himself that he was an adult, not a lovesick youth haunted by desire. His love for the Warrior of Light was unrequited, but that did not mean that loving her was wrong. The fact that he still loved her, at all, meant that his transformation into the Exarch had not erased his previous identity entirely, something he had always feared upon waking to see crystal embedded deep in his skin. That he still possessed the capacity for love, meant he would ultimately have the strength to hurl himself into the Rift. Loving someone didn’t always mean there was a happy ending; it would have to be enough for the Exarch to know that he loved his Warrior, <em> and </em> their worlds, enough to give his life to ensure their combined survival. He could do nothing else, had exhausted every possibility.    </p><p> </p><p>He stripped from his robes and entered the bath, hissing as the heat of the bathwater surrounded him, the crystal encasing his flesh amplifying the sensations as he sat gingerly on the bottom of the tub, his red tail waving behind him, his tail tip peeking upwards from the surface of the water.  </p><p> </p><p><em> Did I expect her to just wait for me to somehow be alive, </em> he thought, <em> to emerge from the tower unscathed at some future time, and take up our friendship where we had left off? </em> The Exarch continued admonishing himself as he cleansed himself with sweet-smelling soaps he had bought from Bragi weeks ago. </p><p> </p><p><em> Did I expect Tetri to refrain from taking others to her bed, forgoing the comfort of a lover, while she fought multiple wars and battles? Is the danger of the wilderness, the chaos of the battlefield, not just as crushing as my loneliness in this tower has been to me? Of course she will take love where she can find it! I have no right to expect otherwise! </em>       </p><p> </p><p>The Exarch shook his head, feeling his ears twitch against the sides of his head, as he caught himself nodding off in the bath. He was thinking in circles, now, far too deep in his customary obsession over the Warrior of Light than he preferred to admit. The pleasure of touching Tetri’s mind, of being immersed in her consciousness, and the subsequent shock of experiencing her memories of loving the Scions, had drained the Crystal Exarch of most of his personal energy for the rest of the day. He managed to towel off finally and drag himself to his bed, suddenly feeling every one of his several centuries of age, and collapsed upon the cool sheets, leaving his robes on the floor. The Miqo’te man fell asleep in short order, too exhausted to even dream.              </p><p> </p><p>* * *</p><p> </p><p>The next day, the Crystal Exarch awoke refreshed. He grudgingly admitted that perhaps Lyna was right that he did not sleep enough. He skipped breakfast after donning his robes, drinking a cup of the dried lavender tea that Lyna had brought him. As he steeped the leaves for a second cup, admiring their purple color, he was reminded of one Miqo’te dragoon’s hair, the shade of which was nearly the same shade of lavender and ivory. The Exarch sighed to himself, feeling particularly pathetic. He could not avoid her forever! It was time to simply get over his ill-warranted obsession with the fated savior of the First. He had taken Tetri and her friends here by force; he had a responsibility to ensure they got home. What she did in her bed was her own business; he should never have considered looking into her mind in the first place, let alone performed such a deed. The Miqo’te man took a deep breath to center himself, then drained his cup of tea before taking his staff and heading to the Ocular. </p><p> </p><p>On his way, the Exarch’s red ears twitched beneath his cowl as he felt the arcane threads of his power suddenly thrum off-kilter, and he gripped his staff firmly, frowning, attempting to isolate the cause. The warp and weft of his magic thrummed in unease as it swirled through the tower, and subsequently in turn through the crystal embedded in the Exarch’s skin; something was up, though he knew not what. The ancient mages of Allag, in their quest to control the very chronological heart of time itself, had specialized in locating points of fate-changing events in spacetime, what the scholars of the day had termed “moments of novelty.” For those attuned to such magics, the Exarch included, a novel event could be felt in the present moment like an echo from a possible future, a discerned ripple in a pond from a stone that had not yet hit the surface of the water. Depending on actions taken in the present, the course of a timeline could be changed or adjusted by the one who discerned the novel event in the first place. </p><p> </p><p>The Exarch grimaced as he walked briskly to the Ocular, applying his brilliant mind to picking apart the aberrant thrum of this new moment of novelty as he did so. He was not all powerful; he could not see the nature of the future event, only feel its impact from his present. In his mind's eye, the Miqo’te man could see the possible event only as a cloud of nebulous mist, devoid of form, but causing the crystal in his skin to thrum with the energy of the same temporal shifts he was working to control in his efforts to avoid a future Calamity. Whatever this was, it could not have come at a worse time. He wanted to reconnect with Tetri and the Leveilleur twins to discuss their next plan of attack against the Lightwardens, and he had hoped to get Tetri alone for at least a quarter of a bell, to somehow make amends to invading her mind. He was sure he could be abstract enough, but it was important to the Exarch to apologize, all the same. G’raha T’ia, the man he used to be, the man who had bonded with Tetri back at St. Coinach’s, would have wanted it to be so, and thus he wanted to as well. The Exarch wanted to heal the rift within himself before it was all over, and he knew the Warrior of Light was the key to doing so. </p><p> </p><p>With his mind full of whirling thoughts, the Exarch rounded the corner of the Ocular in a hurry, his robes fluttering about him, intending to utilize his crystal screen to measure the threads of arcane spacetime to pinpoint this aberrant novelty, instead of spying on his Warrior. He came to a stop in front of the screen, raising his staff, feeling power rush through him, the crystal side of his body tingling with energy, when the doors to the Ocular opened. The Exarch startled at the sound, whirling about, his ears twitching beneath his hood, and on instinct he bent his head slightly, so that his cowl obscured the rest of his face from view.</p><p> </p><p>Tetri strode in towards him, alone, clad in her full armor, the gleaming metal spear of Liberator at its customary place at her back. As was her habit, she eschewed a helmet or visor; Tetri had told him once, at St. Coinach’s, that she preferred to go without, so as to avoid any gaps in her field of vision whilst mid-jump. According to Tetri’s own account, the dragoon had trained extensively to adapt to a helmetless fighting style, both in the Lancers’ Guild and later with Ser Estinien Wyrmblood, the Azure Dragoon of Ishgard, as they had journeyed together in the wilds of Dravania. The Exarch forced himself to appear relaxed, his whole body tense beneath his robes and cowl at his close proximity to the woman he was not quite ready to see. Nonetheless, he forced himself to nod in greeting as the Warrior of Light closed the distance between them, until she was mere ilms away from him.</p><p> </p><p>“There you are, Exarch!” she said, her ruby eyes bright with excitement. </p><p> </p><p>“Ah, Tetri, good afternoon,” he said with some cheer. Nervous or no, the Crystal Exarch was always happy to see her, and it had been several days since he had done so. He could not help feeling the bolt of satisfaction that ran through him as she said his name.   </p><p> </p><p>She gave a small wave with a gauntleted hand, her purple ears twitching.</p><p> </p><p>“I apologize for barging in without notice,” she said. “The Crystarium guard outside said you might have been busy, but as we aren’t connected via linkpearl, I wanted to stop by to talk directly, so he let me in.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not a problem, Tetri,” said the Exarch good naturedly. “I had been performing some research here in the tower for the past few days, and I figured you and the Leveilleurs could use the extra respite after our battle in Holminster. I had meant to reach out to you and the Scions later today about meeting to plan our next steps.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, yes, about that,” she replied, a frown appearing on her face, and the Exarch watched her ears fold against the sides of her head, a Miqo’te display of stress. “Lyna contacted me through linkpearl from the keep, out at the Ostall Imperative. It seems that Vauthry’s forces have taken a young girl that was traveling with Thancred, that new ‘partner’ you mentioned a few weeks ago. Her name is Minfilia.” </p><p> </p><p>She sighed, running a hand through her close-cropped hair. No doubt she was pondering the connection between this mysterious girl, and her lost Antecedent of the Seventh Dawn, Minfilia Warde.  The Exarch bit his lip; according to his overall plan, it was not yet time for Tetri to know more about the girl and her special role in the First’s collective fight against the sin eaters. More importantly, though, the Exarch believed it was not his story to tell. Thancred had been traveling with Minfinila for most of the five years he had been in Norvrandt, and he would surely want to inform Tetri about it in his own words once they were reunited. </p><p> </p><p>After his experience in Tetri’s mind, after having felt her emotions regarding the Scions, he wanted to avoid getting between them, if he could. The Warrior of Light’s feelings towards the Scions--the Archons that comprised the group whose souls he had pulled to the First--were varied and complicated: affection, fondness, attraction, and a fierce protectiveness, wrapped in a thin web of denial. Nonetheless, the Exarch knew that Thancred, Urianger and Y’shtola were also important to Tetri, just as much as Alphinaud and Alisaie. The meaning of her mixed emotions was for her to figure out; the Exarch felt bad enough he knew such personal feelings from his Warrior, and was prepared for a more hands-off approach going forward. </p><p> </p><p>“The twins have already gone ahead to meet Lyna at the keep,” said Tetri, oblivious to the Exarch’s musings. “They’re waiting for me. We’re going to stage a rescue and get Minfilia back, hopefully we’ll be able to run into Thancred in the process. I figured since Lyna and her squadron are coming with us, I should let you know beforehand.”           </p><p> </p><p>The Exarch nodded in acknowledgement. </p><p> </p><p>“Well then, I thank you for coming to tell me in person, Tetri,” he replied. “Together, I have no doubt you will be able to retrieve Minfilia. My scouts at the Imperative will keep me apprised of the situation. In the meantime, I will continue my research here at the tower, to ensure we can gain an advantage over the Lightwardens.” </p><p> </p><p>Tetri nodded at him, still frowning, regarding him with a serious look that she usually got right before a battle. The Exarch turned back to his crystal screen in dismissal, wanting her to leave so that he could continue examining the moment of novelty that still thrummed throughout the tower, making the crystal in his flesh tingle insistently. He could not allow anything to get in the way of his plan! He ran the fingers of his non-crystal hand over his staff, waiting for the telltale sound of the doors closing behind his Warrior to begin his spellcasting, but silence remained: she was still standing behind him!</p><p> </p><p>The Exarch ground his teeth in annoyance. He wanted her to leave, he was not ready to see her! Would her tortuous hold over him never cease?! Before his anger could fester, he heard her speak.</p><p> </p><p>“Exarch,” she said, her voice firm, and the Exarch knew it was a command to face her. He did so, turning towards the dragoon with no small measure of resignation, and looked at the woman he loved, that he wished he could just forget. Tetri narrowed her ruby eyes at him, tilting her head as she examined him from head to toe. The Exarch felt unnerved at her scrutiny, feeling her gaze like a physical touch on his body, and he bit back a moan at the sensation. It was the closest he had ever come to being touched by her directly, since his transformation, and he suddenly ached with longing. He took a shaky breath as she suddenly stepped nearer to him, and he gripped his staff to steady himself. What was she doing now?!</p><p> </p><p>“Exarch, I--” she said, and stopped, peering into the darkness of his cowl. The Exarch stared back, unable to move, suddenly terrified she would see his face and put his plan to save them all in ruins. The two Miqo’te stood frozen for a few moments, then Tetri laughed softly, a blush blooming in her cheeks beneath her facial markings.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, Exarch, I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said, shrugging at him, the movement jostling her spear lightly against her back. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s just--lately, I’ve been concerned about you,” she continued. “I got used to talking with you regularly about what’s going on, and then you disappeared for a few days. I understand you rarely leave the tower, and after the battle in Holminster I was worried you had outdone yourself. Lyna has told me you rarely take care of yourself as well as you should--a habit we both share, by the way.” </p><p> </p><p>She smiled, and the Exarch smiled back, a small thrill of glee moving through him despite his better judgment. She was <em> concerned </em> about him, thinking of him! </p><p> </p><p>“Ah, yes,” he said, laughing a bit in response. “Although I have since fully recovered from the battle we shared, I will fully admit that Lyna is correct in that regard. I often get caught up in my research, and tend to forgo sleep. I...sometimes forget to eat, too, though please don’t tell Lyna I said such a thing. Otherwise I will never hear the end of it, upon your return!”</p><p> </p><p>Tetri gave an undignified snort of laughter. </p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry, Exarch, your secret of irregularly skipping meals is safe with me!” she said, tapping her heart over her cuirass, and the Exarch’s heart ached in response. That was not the kind of secret he longed to entrust to her. Her abrupt kindness towards him was both a wonder and a torture, pulling the Exarch back towards Tetri just when he wanted to push her away. He opened his mouth, then, meaning to fill the space between them with something, though he didn’t know what, when he saw Tetri startle, giving him a look of concern, her ears swiveling towards him. </p><p> </p><p>“Exarch, what happened?” she asked, a tone of worry in her voice. </p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean, Tetri?” he asked, confused about the sudden change in her demeanor. Tetri sighed in frustration, closing the distance between them before the Exarch could even blink. He stepped backwards, but she reached out with lightning-quick reflexes, grabbing his crystal hand in hers, careful not to catch the pointed end of her gauntlets on him. </p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing…?!” the Exarch cried in shock, her hold on him cementing him in place where he stood, terrified of accidentally knocking the hood off of his head if he moved any further backwards. </p><p> </p><p>“Hold still, please,” said Tetri, pulling his crystal hand up towards her face. The Exarch felt his heart skip a beat; his crystal hand burned where she held it, and he could feel the heat of her fingers even through her gauntlet. </p><p> </p><p>“Exarch, your hand,” she said, peering at the crystal on his fingers. “Here, along your knuckles, the crystal there--it looks...well, <em> chipped. </em>” </p><p> </p><p>Before he could ask what she meant, he watched her gently run the fingertips of her other hand along his knuckles, and the Miqo’te man shook at the touch, overwhelmed. He felt her fingers catch along a point, and--yes, it did seem like there was a small scratch there, a chip in the crystalline fibers that had woven over his flesh. The Exarch realized he must have scratched himself in his collapse on the floor the other night. He felt himself blush underneath his cowl, feeling stupid about his earlier outburst. </p><p> </p><p>“Ah, so it is,” he replied, his voice shaking only a little. “My apologies for scaring you, Tetri. It is an accidental scratch, suffered in my customary forgetfulness during my activities. New crystal will grow over it, and my hand will be good as new. I will heal as well as anyone, I assure you, though I am aware it seems strange.” </p><p> </p><p>Tetri nodded and swallowed, staring at his face, the sound audible in the quiet of the Ocular. She had not let go of his hand, though she let it drop until their hands were linked between them. She stroked the chipped knuckles again with her other hand, and the Exarch bit his lip to keep from gasping. He could not take much more of her touch on him! </p><p> </p><p>“You really don’t take care of yourself, do you,” said the Warrior of Light, a hint of affection in her voice. “I’ll have to help you change that.” </p><p> </p><p>She walked even closer to him, until they were mere ilms apart, and he could feel the heat of her body through her armor and clothing. The Exarch was now visibly shaking at her closeness to him, unable to stop. He turned his head to the side, unable to bear her look of affectionate concern any longer, lest he become lost in her eyes once more, and do something he would regret. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re shaking, Exarch,” she said, and stroked his crystalline hand again. He took a shaky breath.</p><p> </p><p>“Y-y-yes, I am,” he replied.          </p><p> </p><p>“Does it hurt?” she asked him, and he shook his head as well as he could while facing away from her. </p><p> </p><p>“It is not pain that’s causing me to shake,” he said softly, feeling unburdened with the honest comment, and Tetri gripped his hand tighter.</p><p> </p><p>“I--I’m sorry, Exarch,” she replied, “I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that. Not without asking you. I know that you’re wary of being touched, but--I got worried you were injured.”</p><p> </p><p>She moved to let go of his hand, but he turned his palm upwards, linking his hand with hers so that she was unable to let go of him completely, feeling the metal of her gauntlet bite into his crystalline skin.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s alright,” he said quietly, looking askance at their linked palms. “I--I liked it. I liked that you were worried about me.”</p><p> </p><p>He hadn’t meant to say it, but now that he had, he didn’t want to take the words back. It was like Tetri’s touch upon his skin was unlocking the deepest yearning of his heart, cutting through his emotional defenses and subterfuge like they were made of paper.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, too, Tetri,” he said, and dared to look up at her. Her face was uncharacteristically unguarded, a soft, vulnerable look on her face as she gazed at him. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry for all of this,” the Exarch continued. “Our world needed you, you and your friends. <em> I </em> needed you. I know this war was not your choice, that I've caused you more trouble when that was the last thing you needed, after everything that you had experienced back in the Source. I can only beg for your forgiveness, for any slights against you that I’ve committed, no matter what those may be. I promise you, I will do all I can to make this right.”</p><p> </p><p>Tetri nodded at him, smiling gently. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Exarch,” she replied. “I know you will. Apology accepted, and all that. I apologize if I’ve been...distant from you. I’m finding it difficult to trust, especially when I feel like secrets are being kept from me. And you are one of the most mysterious people I've ever met.” </p><p> </p><p>“I will consider that a compliment, Warrior of Light,” he said, and was rewarded with her laughter.</p><p> </p><p>“Good, it was meant to be,” she said, chuckling. “But seriously, Exarch...if we’re going to win this war, we need to work together. Please don’t feel like you need to keep things from me.”</p><p> </p><p>“I...will try, Tetri,” he replied. “That is all I can say. I wish I could promise more, but as you said, this is a war. Leaders must decide which information to share, and which to strategically withhold, until the time is right. I know you can understand that. I just ask for your patience. I will reveal all that I know to you, and the Scions, in due time.”</p><p> </p><p>Tetri pursed her lips in annoyance, her displeasure plain, but she nodded, squeezing his hand.</p><p> </p><p>“I suppose that will need to be enough, for now,” she said. “I must go, Exarch. I am already late to the Imperative, I expected to leave half a bell ago. Please, take care of yourself as best you can, in the meantime. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”</p><p> </p><p>“I will, Tetri,” he said, and moved to pull his hand from hers, but she held him fast. He watched in slow motion, his breath caught in his chest, as Tetri raised his crystal hand to her lips. With agonizing slowness, she pressed a gentle kiss on the chipped part of his knuckles. The Exarch trembled at the contact, and just as he did so, a flash of light formed in his mind’s eye. He felt the aberrant energy caused by the earlier moment of novelty <em> shift. </em>In his mind’s eye he saw the novelty entwining itself into the threads of spacetime binding him and the Warrior of Light together, visible as strings of light, filaments of potentiality that were rapidly solidifying to his magical senses, merging into reality, becoming fated to occur in the timeline he was creating! </p><p> </p><p><em> It’s us, </em> he said, breathing shakily as Tetri finally pulled away and let go. <em> The moment of novelty was our locations in spacetime merging together, a direct intertwining of destinies! </em> What had changed in the timeline was <em> them. </em> There was a <em> confluence </em> between them, now, binding them together on a temporal level. He reached out with his magic and saw that the shift had fully evaporated, crystalizing into a future that had both Miqo’te inexorably linked, visible in his mind’s eye as a shimmering blue strand of soul aether connecting them both together. </p><p> </p><p><em> Seven Hells, </em> the Exarch thought as the Warrior of Light gave him a final wave and a bright smile, before running out the doors to the Ocular. He watched the great crystal and brass doors slam shut, leaving him alone once more. Only this time, his heart was racing with excitement, for he knew there was a deeper meaning to the arcane powers now binding him and Tetri together. The topic of confluences was one of the first elements of Allagan time magic he had studied, in preparation of implementing his plan of restarting the timeline and avoiding the Eighth Umbral Calamity. Every individual had their own location in the fabric of spacetime, leaving a sort of imprint caused by the resonance of their soul aether. A mage who used time magic, like the Crystal Exarch, could see these resonances, and could measure their path in their mind’s eye, able to see influences on one’s possible destiny. Normally, an individual progressed forward in linear time, with their resonance appearing in a straight line, and regardless of friends or family, this did not change. </p><p> </p><p>A <em> confluence, </em> however, was a merging of individual resonances in spacetime: a definite merging of destinies, where a person’s path forward in time became locked with another’s, unable to be removed or altered. At a greater scale, with millions of individuals locked together in deliberate temporal spellcraft, entire civilizations could be nurtured, created, or destroyed with such magics. The time mages of Allag, seeing the potential for abuse by their Emperor, who had owned plenty of destructive magics already, had secreted away this knowledge in their libraries, the few tomes of which had survived the fall of their civilization and made their way into the tower, and subsequently into the Crystal Exarch’s hands. </p><p> </p><p>On a large scale, confluences were not ideal, but for individuals, a confluence normally arose out of two possibilities: two people becoming spouses...or two people becoming lovers. </p><p> </p><p>The Crystal Exarch’s future belonged to Tetri, and hers belonged to the Exarch. </p><p> </p><p>She just didn’t know it yet.</p><p> </p><p>For the first time in two centuries, the Exarch had no idea what to do.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading! </p><p> <br/>Do you like the Crystal Exarch, Emet-Selch, and other characters in Final Fantasy XIV? Are you a FFXIV fanfic writer and/or reader? Then consider joining us for related merriment in the Bookclub!: https://discord.gg/TD8zYvx</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Crystal Exarch II: A Dream of Love (The Crystarium)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A/N: I'm back! Thank you so much for all the well wishes and comments during my summer hiatus. I'm doing much better. What's more, I am SO EXCITED to post this chapter! I worked on it for several months and I'm so happy with how it turned out. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!</p><p>A big Thank You! to FreyaLionheart and Hawksong for being enthusiastic beta readers for key portions of this piece and cheering me on. And another big Thank You! to everyone in the Bookclub for their enabling and just general awesomeness.</p><p>Just a note that I will be taking a break after this chapter to work on my original fiction, but this work is not abandoned and I will be updating as I am able to. Hope you all are staying safe and enjoying the new Patch!</p><p>A further note about 5.3: There are NO spoilers for 5.3 or any content beyond SHB Patch 5.0 in this chapter. That said, please don't read if you haven't finished 5.0!  </p><p>That's everything. I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri clenched her hands in her Amaro’s reins as the creature soared through the night skies above Lakeland. She could see Alphinaud and Alisaie’s mounts in the corner of her eye, as well as Thancred and Minfilia’s. The Warrior of Light watched as the girl’s luminous blue eyes opened wide in wonder as she watched the forest rush past beneath them in a purple blur, and Tetri smiled as she saw Thancred curled an arm protectively about his young charge, his white coat billowing upwards in the breeze. Tetri hadn’t gotten much of a chance to talk to either Minfilia or Thancred during the battle; she had been taken by surprise by the sheer fighting skill of Ran’jit, and had been grateful for Thancred’s timely appearance, as well as his obvious aptitude as a Gunbreaker. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She blinked as Thancred turned in the saddle to direct his green gaze on her, looking at her with a mixture of frustration and awe, perhaps at seeing her again after so long a time; Tetri couldn’t believe it had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>five years</span>
  </em>
  <span> since Thancred had found himself in the First! She had only been in the First for two months, herself, but it was already feeling like a lifetime after everything that had happened thus far. Tetri turned her head forward, feeling her cheeks blush from his gaze despite the cold surrounding them, unable to take the full brunt of the Hyur’s gaze just then. She had no idea how to talk to him, after so long apart. Of course, he was still her dear friend and fellow Scion; he was still the one and only Thancred Waters, but Tetri could feel part of himself was closed off, distant, and not just from her, if Minfilia’s hesitation and shyness towards her foster father figure was any indication. They had obviously both been through a lot, their earlier battle notwithstanding, and Tetri figured they needed some time to decompress. She would tell him whatever he wanted to know, about Doma and Ala Mhigo (though the twins had probably shared all with him already), or anything, really--</span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> the twins, though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri seriously doubted Thancred was ready to hear about her relationship with the Leveilleurs; she certainly didn’t feel ready to tell him. She had talked it over with Alphinaud and Alisaie earlier, and they had agreed to her request to keep their developing connection somewhat subdued when in the company of the others, at least until a more opportune moment arose to disclose all. Tetri didn’t feel like a moment like that might ever arrive, though; after so long away from Thancred’s side, she hesitated to disclose the contents of her heart to him, for fear of pushing him away even further. She didn’t want him to think she was taking advantage of the twins, for nothing could be further from the truth; Tetri did indeed love them. Yet somehow she didn’t think this older Thancred, with a fierce strength running through him and rage gleaming in his eyes as he whirled his gunblade in battle, would see that, at least not immediately. Tetri’s ears twitched in anxiety, resolving to put such out of her mind. After all, another man awaited them once they arrived back in the Ocular, a mage with limbs of crystal and unknown powers she couldn’t yet fathom in their entirety. Tetri took a deep breath of the night air around them, willing her racing heart to calm as the amaros brought them swiftly back towards the Crystarium; back towards the Crystal Exarch!   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The stars glittered over the lavender trees as the amaros banked left, catching an updraft of wind that bore them faster and higher into the sky as they turned towards the gleaming crystal tower of the Crystarium. Tetri felt herself smile widely as she stared at the cosmos shimmering above the land, looking like a shroud of diamonds scattered across shadowed silk. The expanse of the night sky reminded the Miqo’te dragoon that the soul eaters and Lightwardens were not invincible, that they </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> be defeated. There was hope for Norvrandt, and therefore, hope for Eorzea and the Source besides! No matter what happened, she was glad to be surrounded by the Scions (</span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> Scions, she was beginning to think of them) once more. It didn’t matter what Fate threw at them, it didn’t matter what the Lightwardens or the soul eaters or Vauthry dared to do, because they would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>together,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Scions and the Warrior of Light! They always prevailed; this time would be no different! How many impossible things had Tetri and her friends already dared to do, back in Eorzea, things that, not too long ago, would have seemed the height of madness? With the Scions--the Archons of the Seventh Dawn--at her side, anything was possible, no matter what world they found themselves in. Tetri couldn’t help but smile at that thought, and she reached forward to rub the furred neck of her amaro, praising it softly as the dragon-like creature grunted in pleased affection at her touch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Straightening once more in her saddle, Tetri frowned as the amaros reached the edge of the Crystarium city limits, swooping low in preparation for landing. She wasn’t sure how to feel about seeing the Crystal Exarch so soon, and the Miqo’te woman felt her cheeks heat in a blush once more as she berated herself mentally for her conduct with him before leaving for the Ostall Imperative a day ago. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she thought about it on a deeper level, Tetri figured it had been an impulsive move, touching him directly, on his crystal hand, even, not to mention crowding the Exarch against the wall and invading his space. It was a move done in poor taste, regardless, and the fact that she had done it at all made her ache with regret and more than slight revulsion at the lack of integrity in the way she had conducted herself towards the man. Tetri had suddenly wanted to throw the Exarch as off-kilter as she felt he had done to her. He refused to answer her questions about his greater plan, would not even deign to give her a scrap of knowledge that could be useful to her and her friends, and so she had touched him. Yet, the effect her touch had on him, driving the mage to a stammering, shivering mess, awakened her less-than-polite urges, despite herself. Seeing his crystal hand having become chipped immediately had made Tetri shift gears, wanting to make sure the Crystal Exarch was alright, and then--then she </span>
  <em>
    <span>couldn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> let go of his hand, no matter how much she willed herself to. She had not smelled any form of magic or spellcraft about them, at the time, but still, something drew Tetri to the Exarch, made her overlook his slights against her and the Scions, made her want to protect him, despite all of that. Tetri didn’t understand why.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>Why did I corner him?</span></em><span> she thought. </span><em><span>Why did I grab his hand, why did I </span></em><b><em>kiss</em></b><em><span> him?! I </span></em><b><em>kissed</em></b><em><span> the </span></em><b><em>Exarch!</em></b> <em><span>Why did I do that?!</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He is a powerful mage,</span>
  </em>
  <span> rumbled her dragon soul in the back of her mind, deciding to remark on her private consternation, as usual. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He smells of a fierce, rare magic. It is reasonable to desire such strength in a mate.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her dragon soul was too tightly interwound with her aether, at this point, for Tetri to be able to expect to hide anything from it, and that included her most private thoughts and emotions. She had accepted that a long time ago when she had claimed her dragoon soulstone in Coerthas, putting up with its mental diatribes, which usually tended to coincide with her own, figuring such was the price of the magics she wielded as the Crimson Dragoon. Still, its opinions annoyed her more often than not. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I do </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>not</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> desire him as a mate,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she growled back by way of response. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I do not </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>trust</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> him. I want to trust the ones I love, not look upon them with suspicion. The ones I love shouldn’t keep secrets from me, nor I from them.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her dragon soul snorted at her in derision, and Tetri had a mental image of a great azure dragon peering down at her judgmentally with glittering eyes, its aetheric nostrils flaring, breathing columns of invisible steam. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Mates do what they must to protect their own,</span>
  </em>
  <span> it said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Perhaps he sees you as </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>his</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> mate. Perhaps he spares you the truth to protect you.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And perhaps he hides his secrets to destroy me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she said, </span>
  <em>
    <span>to endanger us, and the Scions!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her dragon soul’s eyes narrowed at that. Tetri felt, rather than saw, the scrape of claws against aetherial stone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We will not allow such,</span>
  </em>
  <span> it said, </span>
  <em>
    <span>we will not allow our pretty twins, </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>our </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>mates, to be endangered! Anyone who does shall perish, by our claws and fire!</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Just so,</span>
  </em>
  <span> said Tetri, their wills aligned once more, and jolted back to the present as her amaro landed with a groan upon the landing deck of the Crystarium, its claws clicking against the floor beneath it. Tetri dismounted, patting the amaro once more before handing off its reins to the attendant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Exarch let out a sigh beneath his hooded cowl as the Warrior of Darkness and the Scions funnelled out of the Ocular. Tetri and the others had recalled their battle with Ran’jit to rescue Minfilia. After some discussion, they had all agreed to head next to Il Mheg to reconnect with Urianger. The Exarch had felt Tetri’s eyes on him the entire time, her gaze searing him through his cowl, until he thought his silk robes could have burst into flame from how intensely the Miqo’te dragoon was staring at him from across the Ocular, her arms crossed in her intimidating armor and biting her lip in a pensive look, her ears bent back against in her head in thought. He had waited a bit as the others filed out the great brass doors, expecting her to possibly stay behind to talk with him in private, but he watched her ruby eyes slide away from him as she turned and left with merely a wave. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was, all things considered, quite a different reception from Tetri than what he had received right before she left for the Ostall Imperative a mere day ago. The Exarch figured he could chalk it up to mere exhaustion; the dragoon had obtained her victory, along with the help of the Scions, as he had expected, but a battle was a battle nonetheless, and Tetri was no healer. He knew, from his experience fighting alongside her in the Tower in his youth, that the Miqo’te woman was a ferocious fighter who could easily hold her own in battle, but taking care of her wounds--or emotional health--after the fact was something she struggled asking for help with, even from her close friends and comrades. Tetri hadn’t even let him hand her a bandage from his pack in those days, and at that time she hadn’t been a veteran of several wars (and who knew how many skirmishes) like she was now. The Crystal Exarch had found himself wanting to inquire as to her well-being, but found himself tongue-tied at seeing her again, especially after the memory of her lips on his hand continued to repeat through his mind in a seemingly infinite loop.    </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, the Exarch turned and walked to his study in the Umbilicus. He was sure that, if his Warrior of Light and Darkness wanted to confide in him her feelings at a later point, she would, but he knew she had Alphinaud and Alisaie for that now, and more besides, as his ill-considered secret foray into her memories had plainly shown him. After Tetri had a few days rest, they would all head to the faeries’ domain, leaving him to his schemes. The Exarch found himself loathe to return to his accustomed isolation after having had Tetri so close by. Even his ever-present guilt at his necessary subterfuge, at his invasion into her mind and the pleasure it had given him, would not sway his longing for her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though he now knew the partial reason for such: the </span>
  <em>
    <span>confluence</span>
  </em>
  <span>. That thread of alchemical destiny, perceivable in his mind’s eye as heir of the magics of ancient Allag, linking his timeline with hers, until they had merged together! He felt the ever-present pull of her aether on his, even from across the Crystarium, the sensation tingling through the crystal embedded in his flesh, making him half-hard in his smalls beneath his clothing, and he felt himself flush with frustrated desire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I am hopeless,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Miqo’te man thought in a mixture of anger and despair, his tail and ears thrashing beneath his Allagan robes as he neared his study. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She doesn't want me, she hates me for keeping the truth from her and her friends! But then, why did she </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>kiss</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> me? And why did our timelines form a confluence at all?! </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Crystal Exarch knew he would find no satisfactory answer, even as he sat down at his desk to consult his salvaged pile of tomes once more. He reached for his collection of older tomes, the brittle pages of which had been painstakingly handwritten by the Allagan Empire’s legions of royal scribes, their contents full of the details of every magical system invented by its royal mages. He had already poured over the texts multiple times while Tetri and the others had been away, searching for clues about the nature of confluences and how they could possibly be undone. These particular tomes were complex, as the scribes had recorded their vast body of knowledge in an even older form of ancient proto-Allagan script, one that predated Emperor Xande’s conquest of Meracydia. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Normally the Exarch would have been pleased to examine such books at length; for all that the Tower and his journey thus far had changed him, altering his physical body and his mind by the arcane energies of the temporal magics he now wielded, he was still a scholar at heart, and he found great joy in exercising his intellect. Now, however, he felt only the pressure of his quest, concerned that the form of temporal energies binding him to the Warrior of Darkness would somehow threaten all they were working towards in regards to saving both of their worlds. It was this pressure that drew him to his desk to re-read all of the same texts, this time thrice-over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His research merely confirmed his initial suspicions: as the scribes had written in copious detail, based on the findings of their mages, confluences were a naturally arising phenomenon in spacetime, much like the winds and tides arose out of the elements of air and water. He did finally find mention of the possibility of a confluence being inflicted deliberately upon two or more people; however, the text was quick to point out that such spellcraft required great skill, and was guaranteed to leave a trace of temporal aether behind. If there was no trace of residual aether, then the confluence was certain to have arisen naturally, as a circumstance of fated aspects of the greater timeline, and the individual timelines shared by those same two or more people. Once the confluence was formed, it could not be undone, at least by any safe means the Crystal Exarch could ascertain, either in the texts or in his current knowledge of time magic as it presently stood. To attempt doing so would place those intertwined people in mortal peril, as such strong magics could undo their soul aether, ripping them apart and sending them into the Lifestream by force.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I cannot undo the confluence, then,</span>
  </em>
  <span> thought the Exarch, feeling a headache beginning to form behind his eyes, and he rubbed at his temples in irritation. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What would happen if such a bond is encouraged, rather than resisted?</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sat back up and scratched behind his ears, his tail flitting back and forth as he looked closer at the passage he had been examining:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Once a confluence has bound two or more persons, they can be considered to share a mutual, single timeline. The time mage will recall that a timeline can contain negative or positive aspects, just as aether can be aspected by harmful or helpful elemental energies. The positive aspects of the now-merged timeline can be encouraged by nonresistance of the confluence binding those affected persons’ aether together. Such acceptance encourages the formation of fortuitous events to arise out of the quality of novelty a confluence itself possesses, as an artifact of the continuum.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The antiquated language expressed in the ancient script was enough to make him struggle, even after centuries of study. However, the Crystal Exarch knew, both from his previous forays into this material and his hard-earned fluency in both Low and High Allagan, that nonresistance from a timeline had specific meaning to time mages. Resistance was any actions taken to attempt to avoid a certain temporal event, or the results of a temporal event (technically, his entire plan was a form of temporal resistance, but that wasn’t the goal of his present search). Nonresistance, therefore, was the lack of such actions, allowing events to occur in their proper course, even acting to help them along. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That same frustration arose in his mind; would that he possessed even more advanced Allagan technology, that would have helped him directly observe his and Tetri’s merged timeline, to see the possible outcomes that could play out! All he had, however, was the energy of the crystal tower, and his magical intuition, which nurtured the perceptions of temporal flow in his mind’s eye, awakened by the power of his birthright. The Exarch sighed; it wasn’t as much information as he had hoped to gain, but at least he had confirmed, by this final round of research, that the confluence wasn’t a clear threat to his scheme, at least on the surface. Tetri and the Scions could continue their quest slaying the Lightwardens, and he would continue to safeguard the First and its denizens from the Crystarium. In terms of temporal nonresistance, it was the best they could all do at present, and at least they didn’t have to do anything more or less. It was one less burden off his shoulders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> The Crystal Exarch closed the book with some finality, reaching for another, this one amongst the oldest in his collection. He turned the brittle pages with his normal hand, not trusting the crystal on his other hand to remain free of catching the ancient parchment. He flicked through the pages as fast as he was safely able, not even sure what he was looking for, though he could feel even now the thrum of temporal magics that was the essence of novelty, running through the crystal in his body. As he had learned from his study of this strange form of magic, many moments of novelty were nothing more than actions of nameless impulse, frivolous motions that later were found to have a precise meaning in the future. The Exarch felt goaded by some higher inspiration to search the book, though for what he could not immediately fathom. Then, his fingers caught on a page, and held, no longer turning the pages of the book. The Exarch peered closer, translating the Allagan runes by rote memory as he read:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“There are times you will be far from your beloved, and, by either time or distance, be unable to be by their side. In such times, a mage may find the following spell a blessing. For those mages bound by a confluence to their loved one, this working shall be even more powerful, as the aether of such individuals, already bound by temporal flow, shall tether together with little effort on the part of the mage.” </span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“By the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Twelve!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” said the Exarch as he hurriedly examined the spell scrawled beneath in Allagan runic script. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His throat was parched from hours spent at his desk reading, but now all he could feel was the excitement thrumming through his body at the discovery, his tail twitching behind him beneath his robes. If what he was reading was true, then he had spontaneously found a magical means of confessing his feelings for Tetri, while also leaving the greater machinations of his plan intact. Beneath the initial paragraph was an instructory poem, a custom for the Allagan royal mages of the time who preferred to explain their spellcraft in verse. The poem always preceded the actual script of the spell itself, which was written in a slightly different runic script. The Miqo’te man hummed to himself, standing and grabbing a spare piece of parchment and his quill and inkwell before sitting down at his desk once more, pushing over the pile of books to make room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His tools thus placed, he began to transcribe the spell and each line of the poem that preceded it. The source text was too brittle to use for casting such strong magics, and as he summoned his power during the spell, there was too great a risk of the pages being destroyed while he did so. To protect such a priceless relic was worth the extra time spent transcribing the spell. The Exarch intended to bequeath all of his belongings to the people of the Crystarium after he was gone, and he wanted this collection to be a part of it, just in case a future denizen had the ability of such magics themselves. As unlikely a possibility, the Exarch preferred to trust to hope while he could, a habit his Warrior of Light and Darkness had given him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took the Crystal Exarch some time to translate the lines of the spell from ancient Allagan script to Common--several bells, to be precise--and he found himself enjoying the task despite its innate tedium. He pored over the text with relish, translating directly to Common onto the parchment with quill and ink. Such was the lot of a scholar, even a scholar of magic, and he was nothing if not a passionate workaholic when it came to research.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a passion he shared with one Urianger Augurelt, a Scion and fellow former member of the Circle of Knowing that the Exarch had been a part of so long ago as G’raha Tia. Once the nature of the Elezen’s role in his grand plan was revealed (and reluctantly agreed upon), the Exarch had been able to bond with Urianger over their shared love of mysterious, ancient tomes, and the research they could accomplish therein. Their personal scholarly interests diverged there, however. Urianger, being a student of prophecy back in his Studium days, was more interested in mastering his newfound role as an Astrologian, focusing on the rhythm and nature of the stars as they related to his healing abilities, the better to defeat the sin eaters and their other myriad enemies.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Exarch spent some time in quiet reflection as he worked, moving his hand steadily over the page with painstaking care. It didn’t help that the parchment was especially brittle, from one of his most cherished ancient tomes he had recovered from the numerous hidden libraries scattered throughout the tower. He took care while handling the parchment of the text, as he had no desire to avoid the various spectral monsters of the Twinning sections of the tower on a repeat trip to the ruins of the library where he had originally found the scroll. He could fight them, of course; his power was strongest within the tower walls, but it wasn’t worth it, not when he had found the spell he sought in his own personal collection.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, the Exarch breathed out a deep sigh as he completed his task, placing the quill back into its holder and capping the inkwell. He sat back in his chair, observing the lines of the spell he had transcribed into Common, admiring the flourish of curled lettering that he had always prided himself on producing in his personal spellworks. The language of the spell guidelines was ornate and old-fashioned, a reflection of the mid-period of the high houses of the Allagan ruling family, which had produced the vast majority of spells for the kingdom.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Crystal Exarch placed his crystal hand to his chin thoughtfully, resting his main hand which had become cramped from writing, and paused to survey his handiwork:</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘If therefore thy beloved is far from thee,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And thou wishest to glimpse them in person, even from immense distance,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Use thou this spell, which crafteth a space of dream,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Linked person to person by aether theirs and thine.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Thou must measure thy beloved's exact distance in time and space,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Accounting for thy own endpoint as fixed coordinates.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Thereby connected by thy ensuing spellwork, a dream-world is established,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Imbued by soul-linked aethers intertwined,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A world unto itself, shared by the souls that power it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Whilst entering such space in midst of dreaming, thy presences shall be</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>As if solid, with soul-aether making dream substance</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>As real as waking. Though take care:</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Once soul-linked aethers are intertwined 'ere long,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The dreaming mind cannot sustain the space created,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>For no fixed coordinates mark soul-aether in truth,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Only the body physical, or soul-aether entwined</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>With solid mass. Such space shall then fade</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Remaining as physical memory in full</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Upon awakening.’</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An elegant formula was scrawled beneath the guidelines of the spell, explaining how to establish the time-space parameters of soul-aether once they were bound together, so that the potential energies created by such a profound link echoed back on each other, creating a bubble of space which could be interacted with while dreaming. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A thrill of awed excitement rushed through the Exarch as he completed his read-through of the spell guidelines and their corresponding formula. The creation of a dream-realm in miniature, sustained by the energy of linked aether between two people: a pocket universe! What a marvel the ancients of Allag had devised through their magics!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If only they had focused on such wonders, instead of their Emperor's insatiable appetite for destructive powers,</span>
  </em>
  <span> thought the Crystal Exarch ruefully, shaking his head at the ancient source of his birthright. Yet, he had never heard of this particular spellworking, in his many years of study, which proved the spell had never been handed to the Emperor himself, or his circle of advisors.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This was a personal spell, then,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Exarch thought, considering the spell from a different perspective. </span>
  <em>
    <span>A spell made just by its caster, for the purposes of seeing their beloved from afar...or, perhaps, in secret.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another thrill rushed through the Miqo'te, then, and the Exarch drew in a shaky breath as he realized the fruits of his labor would allow him to do as he wished: he could finally tell the Warrior of Light his feelings, in the dream-space created by the spell! Thus spared by the spell any possibility of revealing his true identity to her, the Exarch could declare his affections for his Warrior in their shared dream space, while also leaving his master plan of saving the First and the Source intact.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Exarch felt his ears twitch as he considered another challenge: how could he conceal his current appearance from Tetri? He could not let her see him as he now appeared, with his flesh marked by both crystal and the grey hairs of his advanced age. He pursed his lips again and perused the guidelines of the spell once more: </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Whilst entering such space in midst of dreaming, thy presences shall be</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>As if solid, with soul-aether making dream substance</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>As real as waking…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Exarch hummed to himself, feeling closer to a solution. He then turned to look at the formula beneath the guidelines. He had copied the exact formula from the parchment, in the customary runic script of ancient Allag, being unable to translate the actual spell formulas to Common without losing their magical efficacy. After spending decades studying the ancients’ methods of spellcasting, the Crystal Exarch had discovered that it was the hidden intricacies of the runic script itself that had assisted in the sheer power of their spells. The script of the ancients was, in fact, multilayered in aetheric spacetime, with each spell rune in a given formula resonating amongst the Rift and the Lifestream, as well as in physical reality. It was this ultimate of arcane qualities that had allowed the Crystal Exarch to master time travel, as well as traversing the expanses of space between worlds. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yet such great powers were not without their dangers, a fact the Crystal Exarch was highly aware of. One added rune line to a single spell could add a burst of power equivalent to that of ten spell-casters, a lost art those in the Studium would likely have killed for. Similarly, one removed line could backfire dramatically, killing the spellcaster and those in a hundred-malm radius in a massive explosion of aether. The script was nothing to be trifled with or underestimated, and the Exarch took great care to make any inscription he copied identical to the source material. Yet, as he examined this particular formula, the Exarch thought he could safely make a small adjustment to one of the minor runes: namely, that describing the soul-aether of the caster taking his or her identical physical appearance, and translating that appearance directly into dream substance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In theory, the formula was similar to the spells of soul and body transference the Crystal Exarch had already used, to draw Tetri and the rest of the Scions across the Rift to the world of the First. The difference was this was a transference of aether into a dream, more of a mental reflection of the physical body, rather than an actual moving of bodies across space. All he had to do was adjust the formula to show his dream appearance as his younger self, rather than how he currently appeared. Tetri would see him as she remembered him back in their adventuring days, the projection of his younger self manifesting out of the confluence-affected aether binding them together. Once in their shared dream space, their bonded aether would allow them to interact on a more tangible level, even allowing sensation of touch, should the opportunity arise. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Crystal Exarch felt his face flush at the thought as he imagined engaging in a different moving of bodies, his mind helpfully repeating a parade of imagined fantasies of himself and the Warrior of Light rocking together, naked and crying out in shared passion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” he said aloud, his voice hoarse with disuse. It had been hours since he had spoken aloud, lost in his studies and his thoughts, and his throat was still parched. Yet, he now felt obligated to defend this project to himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is just to tell her,” he said, “to be honest with her, for once. In the only way I can, the only way I can do so without putting all of it in danger.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was the only way he could tell Tetri that he loved her before he died, before he sacrificed himself for her when the time came. Perhaps she would still hate him for lying to her, for concealing his identity from her; the Exarch thought she probably would, but that could not be helped. If he gave them this opportunity to reunite, even in a dream, to reconnect as Tetri used to know him, as G’raha Tia the scholar, then perhaps she would listen to him. She could hear him out, she could listen to him tell her he loved her, and then make her own decision on how she felt about him. At least, then, the Exarch could move towards his end with a lighter heart, unburdened by the weight of love concealed, knowing one way or the other how his Warrior felt about him. He had already lied enough; at least this one held a grain of truth within.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Exarch nodded to himself, his mind made up: he would do the working tonight. That is, if the Warrior in question was in any state to rest; a dream spell was useless without the dreamer for whom it was intended! He stood to go to the Ocular to check on Tetri’s whereabouts, when he realized he could still feel her aether upon his from afar, tinged blue and red in his mind’s eye, the crystal in his flesh tingling as he felt her power mingle with his own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tethered together, indeed!</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought, shuddering as his own aetheric field reached out towards Tetri’s, feeling their combined energies wash over him like a tide. The texts had not been lying about the intricacies of confluence-aspected aether, though they had barely described what such an experience would be like!  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gods,” he muttered, his tail thrashing beneath his robes, his whole body suddenly aflame with lust as he felt her aether further intertwine with his like a physical touch. The Exarch fought back a groan, already hard beneath his smalls in no time at all; the sensation was nearly as intense as when he had been immersed within her mind! He stumbled forward, not even bothering to pull on his cowl, and managed to grip his staff to ground himself. He closed his eyes, reaching out towards Tetri, and could see her in his mind: </span>
  <em>
    <span>there!</span>
  </em>
  <span> She was sitting in her suite in the Pendants, drinking something out of a tumbler at the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The purple-haired Miqo’te woman was clad in nothing but her blouse and leggings, and the Exarch could see her lance and armor carefully assembled against the far wall. It appeared that she was getting ready for bed (the Exarch sensed it was late in the evening, his day having swiftly passed in his research), and he peered closer at her in his mind. He was finally unable to hold back a groan as he saw she had unbuttoned her blouse in the privacy of her rooms, and he could see a glimpse of her breasts just beneath, the sight of tantalizing tan skin causing the Miqo’te man to once more ache all over with lust. His length throbbed beneath his smalls, and he gasped and palmed himself through his robes, panting as he opened his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He muttered another curse and turned to his desk, grasping the spell parchment gently and looking it over, making sure the edits he had made in his translation were correct. Once he had done so, the Exarch sighed, placing the parchment back onto the desk, and turned towards his rooms for a bath. He had no doubt in his abilities to cast the spell, its workings being similar enough to the temporal magics he now used daily, and it was nowhere near as challenging or fraught as the spell he had used to pull Tetri and the Scions to the First. Temporal magics had that one advantage: physical spell components were rarely, if ever, needed for a casting! Meaning he could perform the dreaming spell itself from the comfort of his bed, a fitting environment for that kind of spell work. He simply had to wait until Tetri was asleep first, before doing so; their dreaming minds would synch up naturally with their aether already attuned to one another. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Exarch grinned, his ears and tail wiggling from the excitement of this new venture. He had already decided he was going to share his dream with Tetri this night; he could feel the tremors of temporal flow at the edges of his mind, confirming that such an event was fated to happen, feeling the threads of his shared future with her as if their dream had already occurred. He sighed with both nervousness and anticipation.    </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Twelve watch over me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he said as he prepared the bath. </span>
  <em>
    <span>See that I intend only the good for my Warrior of Light and Darkness, for all that I have wronged her and her friends. Guide my tongue to speak only the truth to my beloved. May this be enough to make amends between us, before my end.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If Tetri would entertain his request for more--well. He would dare to trust to hope this night, more so than any other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, all there was for this time mage to do, was wait!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>* * *</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri sighed to herself at the table as she poured herself a shot of brandy, her first of the night thus far. She was grateful to be back in her rooms in the Pendants, sore and exhausted from the battle to rescue Minfilia, and particularly her one-on-one battle with Ran’jit. Alphinaud’s healing spells had ensured she wasn’t still injured, though she couldn’t say the same of her wounded pride. She couldn’t understand how he had overtaken her lance so quickly; truthfully, the dragoon was ashamed at how easily the older fighter had bested her in combat. She was glad Thancred had been there to help her out, but Tetri was irked at how she had needed the Gunbreaker’s help in the first place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was the Crimson Dragoon, the Warrior of Light, Hero of Eorzea, and on and on--as such, she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be amongst the best fighters in the Source. Up until today’s battle with Ran’jit, Tetri had almost convinced herself that such a statement about her was a fact. Though, if she was being honest with herself, the titles didn’t mean that much to her, personally. In the end, the Miqo’te had always figured they were more important to Eorzea’s peoples and her role in ultimately safeguarding their lives. As a follower of Azeyma the Warden (she was not devout, per se, but devoted enough to be dedicated to the goddess’s cause, if not Her name), Tetri cared the most about protecting people, and doing so gave her strange life more significance to herself than the fighting she was preoccupied with. Still, this particular battle irked her, had laid bare her own weaknesses, and she hated it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I should be better than this,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought, rage curdling in her gullet, </span>
  <em>
    <span>better than </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>him!</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> I should have defeated that old codger easily! </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her dragon soul snarled in agreement with her, and she allowed it, for dragons were a proud race above all, and its pride had been wounded along with her own. She huffed angrily, the sound loud in her otherwise quiet suite, and her tail thrashed behind her in agitation. She sipped at her brandy, enjoying the sweet, smoky taste as she did her best to forget the events of the day. She had bought the bottle from Bragi at a discount, something about the batch not being the best, but Tetri thought it certainly tasted more than good enough, and packed enough punch to be worth the coin she had spent on it. She had asked for some alone time from the twins, wanting some space to decompress after the battle, and Alphinaud and Alisaie had been understanding, being exhausted themselves and in need of their own uninterrupted sleep, a thing they didn’t tend to get much of when spending a night together, as they were slowly discovering. She smiled at the memory of recent nights together with her newfound lovers--now, </span>
  <em>
    <span>there</span>
  </em>
  <span> was a much better series of events for her to recollect!  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She took another sip of the brandy, trying to savor it before finally heading to bed and sleeping off the entire mess. Tetri looked at the deep amber color of the drink and frowned, suddenly reminded of the Ishgardian brandy she used to drink with G’raha Tia in the Crystal Tower, all those years ago. The memory made her thoughts turn to bitter regret: she should have told the Miqo’te scholar her feelings for him, all those years ago! It felt like a lifetime. Now, looking at the Crystal Exarch merely reminded her of all the things she didn’t know about their quest to save the First, all the things the Exarch wasn’t telling her, how she didn’t know how this all would play out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>To call it a poor strategy would be an understatement,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought, laughing bitterly to herself as she finished her shot of brandy, wincing at the burn of alcohol. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The soul eaters and Lightwardens were tough enough foes by themselves, but there was Vauthry and Ran’jit to contend with, as well as the other kingdoms like Il Mheg, which surely had their own challenges to overcome. Tetri would have been lying to herself if she hadn’t been excited to also see Urianger and Y’shtola again; much like when she had beheld Thancred again since his collapse in the Source, a thrill of sheer </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> coiled at the base of her spine at the thought of being in their presence once more. How they would respond, exactly, to her expressing such feelings for them--let alone disclosing her newfound relationship with both Alphinaud and Alisaie--made Tetri’s head spin. She deliberately poured another shot of the brandy, downing it without a second thought.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her dreams had been strange as of late; she had felt a presence in her dreams, caressing her, a moaning of pleasure in her ear by a masculine voice. She thought for a moment, upon awakening the day before yesterday, that perhaps Alphinaud had snuck into her room without her knowledge, to whisper in her ear, but such actions were unlike him, and besides, that voice had been too </span>
  <em>
    <span>low</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be Alphinaud. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, it finally appears to me that you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> have your own vices. Looks like you aren’t a saint after all, Warrior of Light,” said another deep male voice from behind her, amusement plain in his words. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri snorted in muted laughter, her long ears twitching, looking up and locking eyes with Ardbert as he walked in front of her, the mysterious ghostly warrior that kept showing up unannounced in her rooms. The Miqo’te woman allowed herself a moment to admire the Hyur’s deep blue eyes and handsome features. Were he at all solid, perhaps they could have spent their time together a different way. She still didn’t understand why she was the only one who could see the Warrior, but as his shadowy form wasn’t the least bit physical (and, therefore, neither was that wicked-looking axe on his back), she hadn’t concerned herself with the finer details of his existence. Though his usual diatribes about philosophy left a lot to be desired; on the whole, Tetri preferred her dragon soul’s simple-minded cravings to the rantings of a curious ghost.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As the aforementioned Warrior of Light, I am owed the occasional indulgence or three,” she replied, raising her empty glass and waving it at him, grinning at the pleasant buzz she felt coursing through her. “Also, I never claimed to be a saint, Ardbert. Anyone who suggests otherwise is confused or lying.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, so I gathered from my unwitting forays into your rooms while you were...otherwise preoccupied,” said Ardbert wryly, crossing his arms and leveling a grin at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I told you before,” said Tetri, “that these are my </span>
  <em>
    <span>private</span>
  </em>
  <span> quarters, a concept you don’t seem to comprehend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ardbert snorted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m a ghost who’s still alive,” he said, “I don’t even comprehend why I’m still here at all, in the land of the living. Or why you can see me, for that matter.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you can see me, as well,” said Tetri, raising an eyebrow at him. “I’m assuming you can see me anytime?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ardbert crossed his arms as he looked at her with a grin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can,” he said, “though after inadvertently seeing your--</span>
  <em>
    <span>alone</span>
  </em>
  <span> time with your--your </span>
  <em>
    <span>partners,</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’ll have you know I’m now making an effort to give you your privacy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri snorted as she poured herself a third shot of brandy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Enjoyed the show, then, did you?” she said, smirking at him over the rim of her glass as she raised it to her lips. “I thought I had felt someone’s eyes on us, though I’ll admit I was focused on--</span>
  <em>
    <span>better</span>
  </em>
  <span> things, in front me, at the time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t wipe the smug grin from her face as she downed her drink. The brandy didn’t even burn much, now, as she drank it down, and she could feel sleep rising on the edges of her mind. It wouldn’t be long until she could finally pass out, something she was looking forward to this night. Tetri didn’t normally indulge heavily like this, but the earlier battle had left her worn out, Alphinaud’s healing skills notwithstanding. She poured herself another half-shot of brandy to top it all off before shuffling off to bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ardbert shrugged. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I apologize for seeing something I shouldn’t have,” he said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked at her, a strange glint in his blue eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It made me think of--of times long ago,” he said, and there was genuine sorrow in his voice as he stared at the bottle of brandy on the table. “I was so focused on the next adventure, the thrill of the hunt, journeying with my friends. I don’t regret any of that, but...perhaps I could have found love, with someone, if I had bothered to look. My lovers were few and far between in my life. I wasn’t even sure if I’d ever find someone to love me, in the end. And then, all too quick, the end came for me, sure enough. Now here I am, with you, like this. A shade who can only pretend to act as the living.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked up at her, fixing her with a knowing gaze. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not where </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> are, though,” he said. “You’re lucky, Ser Tetri. You’ve found love in multiple people, and what’s more, those same people love you </span>
  <em>
    <span>back.</span>
  </em>
  <span> That’s not a blessing to take lightly.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri sighed and nodded, sipping her brandy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know,” she said. “Though--that kind of arrangement brings its own challenges.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ardbert laughed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now that’s an attitude we both share, in addition to fighting skill,” he said. “Viewing love as a burden, a thing to be overcome!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t view love as a burden!” she exclaimed, a bit louder than she would have preferred, and blushed at how this damned ghost had gotten under her skin so easily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You view it as a battle, though,” said Ardbert in reply, taking her shout in stride, “as something to attack, instead of accept. You do love your friends, don’t you. </span>
  <em>
    <span>All</span>
  </em>
  <span> of them, not just the twins I saw you with.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was not a question, and Tetri swallowed, a lump in her throat that she couldn’t blame on the brandy. She hadn’t told Ardbert about the rest of the Scions, and yet, whether out of camaraderie as a fellow warrior, or by mere assumption, he had ferreted out her bond with the rest of the Archons, and her feelings for them. There was no point in denying a truth they both knew, especially when it was declared out in the open so boldly. Such was not their way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri nodded, allowing him to win this round.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do love them, yes,” she said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then they are the ones that should hear it from you, instead of I,” said Ardbert, and though his voice was firm, his blue eyes were kind. “This is an opportunity for you, Tetri, to find a kind of love this rare and special. To create that kind of love is a gift. Don’t waste it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I won’t,” said Tetri in reply, but she didn’t have to look up from her glass to know Ardbert was already gone.      </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She downed the rest of her drink, then stood shakily, unaccustomed to so much alcohol after a while without. The Miqo’te stripped herself of her clothes as fast as her wobbly fingers could manage, suddenly finding her clothing confining in her drunken exhaustion. Hurling her clothing upon the floor, Tetri breathed a sigh of relief as she was soon as naked as her nameday, and she stumbled forward into her bed, barely managing to pull the sheets over herself before sleep rose up to claim her.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>* * *</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri felt herself floating in the gossamer mist between waking and slumber, muted colors of grey and gold swirling about her sleeping consciousness. Those colors gave way to a brightness that was somehow tangible, despite her state of dreaming. She reached out towards that gleaming splendor, its warmth reaching towards her like an invisible hand, surrounding her with comfort and the nascent thrum of magic. The Warrior of Light felt herself pulled forward, deeper into that space, surrounded by shimmering motes of golden light, floating about her like fireflies. Tetri took a shaky breath, moved by the beauty of the radiance surrounding her. The Miqo’te woman could feel the light moving </span>
  <em>
    <span>into</span>
  </em>
  <span> her, somehow, flowing across the surface of her mind, giving her the impression of her physical body even in the midst of sleep. Moreover, she could feel the source of such magics, dimly, as if from a great distance; it felt like a person who </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> her, somehow... </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Who do I know, who can use such a form of magic?!</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought, unable to fathom who could do such a thing. Not even her own dear Y’shtola Rhul, an Archon and Archmage of great power, could perform such a feat! The Warrior of Light couldn’t even begin to consider the other part of it, the deep regard she could feel flowing over her, from whoever was on the other side of this space she was somehow inhabiting. She felt herself pulled forward again, even deeper, and the light surrounding her grew brighter, blazing in intensity, before gently fading. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri found herself standing in a brightly furnished camping tent, the wide kind she had stayed in during the Crystal Tower expedition so long ago at St. Coinach’s. Lanterns hung from the suspension rafters hanging the canvas ceiling high above her, casting a gentle orange glow. She remembered how comfortable the tents had been to stay in after long days battling in the Tower, and looked about at the cushions and bedrolls strewn across the floor, the packs of expedition gear arranged along the far wall. The comforting familiarity of her remembered surroundings, looking much the same as her own tent during that time, was jarring to her, as she knew she was actually asleep in the First. Her long ears twitching in surprise, she reached out towards a red cushion on the floor, and gasped as she ran her hands over the surface, able to feel its softness. Somehow, even deep asleep, she could feel and sense everything about her! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What kind of dream is this?” she asked herself aloud in wonder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A magical one, surely,” said a kind voice behind her, and Tetri clenched her fists as she whirled about, prepared to attack. As soon as she saw the source of that voice, however, all will to fight left her body, and her mouth fell open, her long ears standing straight up in shock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There, standing before her, was none other than the red-haired Miqo’te scholar himself, giving her a gentle smile, his crimson eyes gleaming, his ears twitching in mirth: </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>G’raha Tia!</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“G’raha,” she whispered, and Tetri swallowed as her eyes filled with tears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She struggled to get her bearings, taking a moment to look him over. Her old friend looked exactly the same as when she had last seen him disappear into Syrcus Tower: same close-cropped red hair, same striking crimson eyes, along with that familiar red adventurer’s vest and white pants, his leather gauntlets and boots absent along with his bow. He looked, for all appearances, like the real thing, and Tetri fought the impulse to immediately close her arms around him and never let go. Her tail thrashed behind her in confusion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watched as his smile wavered, his ears now twitching with emotion as those crimson eyes she had loved so much also filled with tears, though none fell. She was overcome by a sudden urge to drag her fingers over the triangular facial markings right beneath his eyes, to press her lips against the Circle of Knowing tattoos on either side of his neck. She licked her lips instead, searching for something to say, not missing his gaze dropping to her mouth for a moment, before looking back up at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This...this isn’t real,” she said aloud. It was not the first thing Tetri had wanted to say to the Miqo’te man she had secretly fallen in love with, all those years ago, but now she could not take the words back. She watched as G’raha laughed softly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You do remember that I’m a scholar, Tetri,” he said, and she watched his tail twitch behind him. “If we begin to discuss the nature of reality and what is actually real, I’m afraid we’ll be here quite a long time.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He walked closer to her, slowly, as if trying not to scare her, his eyes never leaving her own. Tetri found herself unable to move or look away, as if hypnotized by his gaze. He came to a stop just ilms away from her, and she watched his ears twitch, feeling her own ears waving in sync with his. It was something that happened with Miqo’te friends and lovers, an expression of familiarity and comfort.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve missed you, my dear Tetri,” he said softly. “To be completely honest with you, I don’t rightly care if this is real or not, if I get to see you again. Gods, you look--so </span>
  <em>
    <span>different</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but still so </span>
  <em>
    <span>you!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was such a scholarly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>G’raha</span>
  </em>
  <span> thing for him to say, that Tetri could no longer hold herself back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>G’raha!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she cried, laughing through her tears, and she raced forward and enfolded him in her arms. He grunted at the impact of the shorter Miqo’te woman embracing him in her iron grip, but laughed and hugged her back just as tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gods, I--I’ve missed you </span>
  <em>
    <span>so much,</span>
  </em>
  <span> G’raha Tia,” she said, her face pressed against his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I missed you too, Tetri, my dear friend,” he said in reply.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He grasped her even tighter to him, and she snuggled into him, trying to get as close to him as she could. He even smelled familiar, a nameless but undeniable male scent that was all </span>
  <em>
    <span>G’raha. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tetri felt her cheeks flush as she felt a </span>
  <em>
    <span>purr</span>
  </em>
  <span> vibrate deep in her chest; it was a Miqo’te instinct she rarely let out, the awkward intimacy of it bothering her, as well as the lack of control, both things she didn’t tend to deal well with. G’raha merely laughed softly in response, rubbing her back with soothing motions, and Tetri hummed and relaxed against him. Even as a dream figment, he was just as caring and accepting of her as she remembered him being, a dear friend as well as a comrade in arms. There was ample reason she had fallen for him, and she couldn’t resist giving in to the sanctuary of his arms around her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You feel so </span>
  <em>
    <span>real,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she murmured, not really intending to have said such out loud, but G’raha merely replied with his own </span>
  <em>
    <span>purr </span>
  </em>
  <span>that echoed her own, his chest rumbling with it, and the sound sent a bolt of desire through her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri felt her cheeks heat even further, but refused to pull away, and G’raha responded by rubbing his cheek gently against the top of her head, both a calming and possessive Miqo’te action. If her mind had created him as an artifact of her exhaustion from the earlier battle, so be it; he was too sweet a vision to let go of!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tetri, I--please, there’s something I have to say,” said G’raha, and he gently pulled away from her, not out of her hold, but enough to look at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri watched as he looked down at her with his expressive red eyes, eyes that could see ancient magics, as well as read her heart with nothing but a glance, she was sure of it. They glimmered with a myriad of emotions as he held her gently against him still, his arms at her back. He took a shaky breath, smiling at her, but his ears, bent back against the sides of his head, showed the stress he felt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tetri I--I just need to say it,” he said, his voice shaking, and she felt his hands tighten their hold on her. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>love you,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tetri! I always have, with everything that I am! Every day we spent together, both in the Tower and in camp at night, at your side...those were days and nights I have always cherished, because I got to spend them with you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“G-G’raha…!” said Tetri, gasping at his admission, unexpected but so dearly longed for, that the dragoon figured this </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be a dream. The real G’raha Tia hadn’t loved her beyond their close friendship, after all! Had he…?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“N-no, I--this can’t…!” she spluttered, reeling from his words, pulling away from him, out of his hold, on instinct.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You aren’t--you shouldn’t--” she began, but G’raha reached out with his lightning quick archer’s reflexes, grasping her hands in his and holding them tightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I shouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>what,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tetri?” he said, challenging her. “I shouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>love</span>
  </em>
  <span> you? I shouldn’t admit my love for you?! I’ve given </span>
  <em>
    <span>enough</span>
  </em>
  <span> to this world, Tetri, enough to have you listen to me, to consider the truth of how I feel about you! I would think the Warrior of Light, slayer of Primals and Hero of Eorzea, would be brave enough to face my feelings for her!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s a low blow, G’raha,” she replied with a snarl, infusing her voice with a draconian growl on instinct. Still, she didn’t pull away from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is it truly,” he said, “when your first response is to flee from my arms?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri bit back an imagined retort, falling silent, as she could not deny the truth of her wayward beloved’s words. G’raha Tia’s declaration of love had shocked her, for she had spent years regretting not having told him the same. She bit her lip, feeling her ears flatten backwards in frustration as she searched for what to say in response. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This is a dream, after all,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought, searching for a reason why she couldn’t just be honest with him, why she couldn’t just </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally</span>
  </em>
  <span> admit that she loved him! Though he may have been a figment of her exhausted mind, she loved him, loved the man that he was, the friend he had been with her. Now, having been in his arms, beneath his gaze, Tetri felt the same sort of closeness and affection she had always felt with G’raha Tia, and the realness of his body, the heat of his hands on hers, so hot his fingers may have burned her (or perhaps that was just the sheer strength of her desire for him, the desire she’d had for years), eroded what was left of her emotional defenses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Sod it all,</span>
  </em>
  <span> thought the dragoon, fed up with her own paltry excuses. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If this is only a dream, let me enjoy it to its fullest! If this G’raha is a dream, I will love him still!</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“G’raha, I--” she closed her hands about his, gripping him tightly. She took a shaky breath, daring to look deep into his crimson eyes, feeling like she could fall forever into their depths. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not wrong about me,” she said softly, and her ears twitched with the anxiety of being so vulnerable to someone. “My first instinct is to--to just run away, any time my feelings are involved. I know that’s strange for me to say, considering the nature of my titles, but...even warriors aren’t always brave, G’raha. I’ve lost a lot of people, since we last saw each other, people I couldn’t save, and they haunt my steps, as well as my heart. It’s...difficult for me to let someone in.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G’raha smiled and nodded gently in understanding, and his eyes were kind as he looked down at her. He stroked the back of her fingers gently with his thumbs, enjoying the slight shudder the touch provoked in his Warrior of Light, the tip of her tail twisting behind her in arousal. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for telling me, Tetri,” he said, his red ears twitching, “but...I’m not asking you to be brave. You don’t have to hold back, to force your feelings or be something you’re not. Not with me. I don’t want you to be anything other than yourself, than who you really are.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“G’raha…” said Tetri, moved by the sweetness in his voice, the sweetness of this vision, of the friend she still adored, swallowing back a sob as she felt tears gathering at her eyes. She let G’raha tug her gently forward, back into his arms, and this time she didn’t hold back her cries, clutching him tightly with her full strength, burying her face against his chest and weeping with both desire and relief. When his arms closed around her, it was the safest Tetri had ever felt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shhh,” said G’raha, trying to soothe her, running a hand through her hair. “I’ve got you, Tetri.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know you do,” she replied, sniffling, her voice muffled from where her face was pressed into his front. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri was momentarily embarrassed at how she had allowed herself to devolve into a blubbering mess. She moved back gently, far enough from him to wipe the tears from her face, as much as she could. When she finally felt like she was somewhat presentable once more, she took her hands away to look at her friend, and blinked as he looked down at her. G’raha was staring at her, the rest of his face curiously blank, but his eyes… Tetri shivered as the Miqo’te man looked at her with unabashed hunger, as his red eyes seemed to darken with both tenderness and want. She suddenly felt pinned by his mysterious gaze, unable to move, and not for the first time the Warrior of Light pondered the notion that perhaps G’raha could cast hidden magics with his eyes alone. She swallowed and broke from the unwitting trance he had placed upon her, feeling her ears twitch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What's that look for?” she asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What look?” he said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That look in your eyes,” she said, peering into his gaze, “like you're smiling at me by that look alone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He smiled at her for real, then, a gentle smile, just a slight upturn of his lips, that made the facial markings right underneath his eyes bend slightly. Tetri wanted to kiss his markings, then, as well as his lips, to remember every part of G'raha Tia, body and soul.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That look is for you, my Warrior of Light,” he said, taking her hands in his and raising them to his lips, pressing gentle kisses to each palm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'm not the Warrior of Light, not right now,” she said softly, shaking her head. “With you, I just want to be me, just as I am.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> my Warrior, Tetri,” he said, stroking the back of her hands with his fingers. “You've always been my Warrior. The one I trust in my heart, to fight for what's right. You can be a warrior and not always have to be strong. You can be a warrior and also be more than that, at the same time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And what is that, exactly?” she asked him, her long ears twitching again. He leaned in to press a kiss on the tip of each ear, making her shudder. “Most people only see me as my title.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, that's not how I see you,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheeks instead, his lips ghosting over the facial markings across her cheekbones and arching over her forehead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see you as a hero, and a dear friend,” he whispered, “a champion, a protector. And…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He brought his lips to hers, hovering in front of her mouth, mere ilms away from kissing her. She trembled as she felt his breath on her lips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see you as a lover,” he said, “but only if you want that from me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His hands tightened about hers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know now how I feel about you, Tetri,” he said, “how much I've yearned for you. And I'm sure I'm not the only one that loves the person that you are, but I want to show you just how much I care for you. D-Do you want to--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His voice stumbled as he shook with nerves, not bothering to hide how nervous he was. His red tail thrashed behind him. G’raha sighed, taking a shaky breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to--to be lovers, with me, tonight?” he asked, his voice tight with longing, his crimson eyes shimmering with desire. “One night, with you, is all I'm asking. And, in return, I promise that you can trust me with your heart.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do trust you, G'raha Tia,” she whispered, overwhelmed with a feeling of awe at how real he felt in that moment. “I've always trusted you. You've always made me smile, always inspired me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri looked away for a moment and gave an uncharacteristic giggle, looking back up at him and watching his red ears twitch in an unspoken question at the look of mirth on her face. She gripped his hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You even made me laugh at the dumb pranks you'd do in camp," she said, "like when you stole my boots from my tent one morning, and I had to fight in the tower wearing an old pair of dancing shoes. You're lucky I'm that good, or we could have been skewered by that fire dragon."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He let out a laugh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ah, Seven Hells, that's right," he said, looking a bit sheepish, his ears bent back against his head in embarrassment. "I did do a fair amount of stupid pranks. You were so mad at me--"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Not as mad as when you filled my socks with rolanberry jam the very next day!" she said with another laugh, shaking her head, but she didn't pull her hands away. "I felt like I'd never get my feet clean again. From that time on, I always made sure to carry another pair. You were such an incorrigible rascal."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shrugged, blushing and grinning at her. "Guilty as charged, Warrior of Light," he said, happy to see her smile at him, that she had not relinquished her grip on his hands, and she saw his red tail waving behind him in contentment. "Us scholars have to keep life interesting, somehow, too much studying makes things so dull. I suppose I'm lucky you still spoke to me, after all that."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri sighed, stroking her thumbs across the backs of his hands as she reminisced further. Sure, this was just a mere dream, but even still, being reunited with G'raha T'ia, after all that had happened in their world since, made Tetri's heart feel lighter. She had never gotten the chance to speak on her deeper feelings for the Miqo'te man, having felt too overburdened by her own duty, by G'raha's determination to discover the secrets of his birthright that slept within his one crimson eye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He looks good with two red eyes,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought, observing the Miqo'te man before her. She knew that, deep down, part of her had loved him even when they had first met at St. Coinach’s Find, and his eyes had still been mismatched, one a brilliant verdant green, the other crimson. She had found the combination striking and beautiful, nearly to the point of distraction whilst fighting in the Tower. When G’raha had told her later about getting driven out of his tribe, supposedly for his mismatched eyes, Tetri hadn’t been surprised that yet another Seeker Miqo’te tribe had vilified a tribal member who was obviously different, who stood out from the rest. Whether it was ostracizing G’raha for his eyes, or singling out a younger Tetri for her bright purple and white hair (her Nuhn and his harem wives had considered such a bad omen, and no one had challenged their authority), to Tetri, the majority of Seeker tribes that she knew of were stuck in the past, mired in outdated traditions and superstitions that drove some of their best and brightest far away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Good riddance,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she had thought at the time when G’raha had told her of his past over an ample amount of Ishgardian brandy in her tent. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s too bright and daring to spend his days hunting for an ungrateful tribe, being pressured to fight a Nuhn, a tradition he wants no part of!</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had told her about as much, laughing as he had spoken of his utter lack of embarrassment about his name...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I tell you true, Tetri,” he said, on his third cup of the night (Tetri was in her fourth, or perhaps her fifth, with everything being hazy and warm in her mind it was hard to tell), “that of the achievements I am most proud of, the title of ‘Tia’ from my damned birth tribe is amongst them! Sod the lot of them, the best day I ever had as a member of that tribe is the day I left!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aye, G’raha, and I feel about the same, the day I parted from my own,” she had replied, her ears twitching in amusement, raising her drink towards him in a toast. “I’ll drink to that!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here here, Ser Tetri!” he cried, clanking their cups together and spilling brandy over themselves and the cushions they were laying on. Tetri watched a drunk G’raha guzzle his brandy with the over-enthusiasm characteristic of one already deep in their cups with a mixture of amusement and desire, watching the pale column of his throat as he swallowed. He looked up after, licking his lips and smiling at her, his red ears twitching, his lips wet, and Tetri clenched her fingers tightly around her own cup to keep from leaning forward and tasting the brandy on his lips with her own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri shook her head, trying to clear it; that was long ago, ancient history, and here they seemed to be, together again, no matter that this was a dream. G’raha felt real before her, his hands in hers, and he had told her he </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved</span>
  </em>
  <span> her! That was certainly enough to make her stay grounded in the present. She looked at his eyes again. They were a deeper red than his auburn hair, giving him a thoughtful, soft look that was predominant on so many powerful mages who were always confidently assured of their magical ability. Tetri liked to think he had spent his time in the tower claiming the birthright of his Allagan heritage in full, that he had claimed and subsequently mastered the powers of the ancients.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She also liked to think G'raha Tia--</span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> G'raha Tia, from Eorzea, not this crimson-eyed dream figment that held her and looked at her with sweetness and adoration--was still alive, slumbering away in the tower's recesses. The dream version of him was good enough, to be sure, and as real as she could have wished, but she could not help but think of her friend and what had happened to them both after they had parted ways, so long ago.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Warrior of Light could not help but think of how many opportunities she had been provided, back then, to tell G'raha how she had felt about him, how she had spurned every last one because of her fears, fears that had felt valid to her at the time but now just seemed petty and inconsequential to the value of actual love, which was rare enough in whatever world she found herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their conquest of Syrcus Tower and triumph over the World of Darkness had taken precedence and eliminated any remaining time the two could have spent together. The next time she’d seen G'raha up close had been when he had told her farewell, where he had turned from her and the others and walked up the stairs to the entrance of the tower. Where she had felt her heart lurch inside her chest, as she realized--too late, of course, always too late--that she was in love with him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Where she watched those great crystal and brass doors lock the scholar inside, perhaps for an eternity.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looked back up at him, meeting his gaze, and found herself transfixed by him, unable to look away. Now, looking at this version of G'raha Tia standing before her, his eyes filled with hope and longing, Tetri could not find it in her heart to deny him his request, for she felt the same. If this was her second chance with her friend, she would take it, and cherish it for what it was.    </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She squeezed his hands, smiling at him, feeling tears burn at the corner of her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think you'd have to try very hard to lose my trust,” she said, “from what I know of you as my friend. What trust I have, though, I give to you freely. So--yes, I want to be your lover, G'raha. I already trust you with my life, so it wouldn't be too much more of a stretch to do so with my heart.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watched G'raha tremble at those words, his ears twitching against the sides of his head, and he gave a shuddering sob, his beautiful crimson eyes filling with tears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tetri…” he whispered, clutching her hands tightly to his chest, as if he would fall without her to hold him up. “You--you have </span>
  <em>
    <span>no idea</span>
  </em>
  <span> what that means to me..."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri felt a sob of her own trapped in her chest, and leaned against him, breathing harshly, feeling tears leaving burning tracks across her face as they fell.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you have no idea what it means to </span>
  <em>
    <span>me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> to see you standing before me, right now,” she whispered, “close enough for me to touch you. Twelve Above, you feel so </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span>, G'raha! I watched you walk up to Syrcus Tower, I saw the doors close behind you and I--I thought I would never--n-never see you again--"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She gave a stuttering laugh, smiling at him even as she wept with her eyes open, not daring to look away even for an onze of a moment, lest this vision of her beloved friend slip away into her mind like gossamer mist.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I--I love you, G'raha Tia,” she said, and his shoulders shook as he let out another sob, tears running down his face and across his facial markings. He raised a hand to her cheek, wiping her tears away with gentle fingers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can say it with my name,” he said in a whisper, “say it with my </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> name, Tetri. I would like to hear it from your lips. Please...?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She smiled softly and nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I love you, Raha,” she said, and he uttered a wordless moan low in his throat, a sound of pure unbridled desire, before yanking her forward and claiming her lips with his own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite the urgency making his heart race, making him feel like he could jump out of his skin, G'raha forced himself to slow his pace and kiss her slowly, just a gentle press of his lips sliding against hers, that hid the fever of lust that was rapidly overwhelming his mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was here, his Warrior of Light, in his arms!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>his!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After centuries alone in his tower, he could have wept with joy merely to be touched, so to be held by his beloved, after all this time, made G'raha's head spin. He wrapped his arms tighter around Tetri, releasing her lips just a fraction, pulling back only enough to look into her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You keep saying that I feel so real, to you," he whispered against her mouth, feeling her tremble, "but to me, right now, being with you is the </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> thing that's real. I don't want to be anywhere else. If this is a dream, let it never end!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Raha,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" she replied, her voice thick with her own longing, and then G'raha no longer wanted to speak, not when she whispered his name like that. He tugged her forward and kissed her again, sweet and slow, and the lovers tumbled deeper into their shared tide of desire, steadily losing themselves in each other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri melted under the Miqo'te man's touch, his hands scalding her skin as he caressed every ilm of her, his lips stealing her breath. G'raha kissed her like a man running out of time, urgent and messy, moaning into her mouth with a hint of anger, as if furious he had been denied the opportunity for this sort of closeness with her. Which confused the small part of Tetri's mind that could still think coherently, being kissed--and stroked, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved</span>
  </em>
  <span>--so senselessly as she was, for the real G'raha was deep asleep back in Syrcus Tower in Eorzea. The Warrior of Light knew that for a fact, had the memory burned into her mind, the ache of seeing G'raha T'ia turning from her, the hurt of seeing those brass and crystal doors closing behind him forever, having been burned into her very marrow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yet, she could not deny the reality of this G'raha who was holding her in his arms with a combination of tenderness and greed, who was taking her lips and her body with a wild passion she could not even hope to deny. No matter that this was a dream, he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>real,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and so was what he was making her feel!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri was dizzy with desire, her smalls drenched with so much slick she felt like she was going into heat at the mere press of his lips against her own. She pressed her thighs together in a futile effort to relieve the ache between them as he held her against him, and G'raha groaned at the movement as the scent of her arousal reached him. His red tail lashed against the small of his back, and he dragged one of his hands down her body to stroke against the base of her tail, his fingers buried in her soft fur.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Miqo'te woman gasped, jolting against the front of his body, feeling G'raha's aroused length throbbing insistently against her through his clothing. G'raha finally tore his lips from hers, and the Miqo'te pair took the opportunity to gasp for breath, staring at each other's flushed cheeks, their eyes blown wide with mutual desire.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Gods,</span>
  </em>
  <span> G'raha," said Tetri, panting, and G'raha had the decency to blush, laughing awkwardly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I--I've been holding in those feelings for you for a long time, Tetri," he said, rubbing his neck with a hand, his other hand securely closed around her at the small of her back, unwilling to let go of her for even a moment.   </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>"How long?" she asked, and G'raha sighed, his ears twitching at having to confront the boundless curiosity in his Warrior of Light.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He grasped her once more, pulling her fully against him, stroking his palm against her cheek and pinning her with his crimson gaze, until she couldn't look away from the intensity in his eyes, his slitted pupils captivating her, until she felt like she was about to be tempered by him, under his spell for eternity. Tetri felt she would have let him, if only to continue to feel his body against hers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Long enough to know that I love you," he replied, "long enough to know that I </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> you. That I want you so badly that I would do anything to hold you, even for just a single night."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"G'raha--" she started, but he nipped at her nose gently to stop her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"My real name, Tetri," he reminded her gently, smiling at the blush forming on her cheeks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ah--right. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Raha,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" she said a bit sheepishly, but G'raha smiled warmly at her and took her lips again in a hungry kiss, all the same.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Miqo’te pair kissed for what seemed like hours, leisurely exploring each other. Tetri groaned once he pressed her lips open with his tongue, licking back at him tentatively, and G’raha answered her with a growl deep in his chest, grasping her by her hips and pulling her against the front of his body, rocking his hips against her. They both sighed as his aching arousal was trapped between them, throbbing against her, and Tetri gently pressed on his chest, breaking the kiss long enough for them to gasp for air. They took a moment to glance at each other: their faces were flushed, eyes blown wide with lust.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I--I want to feel you against me, Tetri,” said G’raha, his voice several octaves lower, rough with want, sending a shiver through Tetri’s body. “Nothing between us.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A-alright,” she said, feeling uncharacteristically shy beneath his gaze, her ears and tail thrashing as she felt her cheeks heat further. The Miqo’te woman reached for the buttons on her blouse, but he took her hands in his. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let me,” he whispered, and she nodded, feeling herself shiver as he began to unbutton her blouse. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G’raha could feel his own hands shaking as he slowly removed his Warrior’s clothing, feeling like he was unwrapping his nameday present. Though of course this was different; he tried not to think too deeply on what they were doing, fearing he would lose his nerve to continue. Together, in between heated kisses they managed to take off her blouse, though he let her unhook her brassiere herself, his hands shaking too much to undo the clasps against her back. He reached up and stroked her breasts, and Tetri jolted against the heat of his palms against her nipples, feeling as if she was burning from within. She pushed him away, and he blinked at her, unable to keep from looking at the expanse of tan skin he had uncovered from her, his eyes roving from her breasts to her face and back again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your turn,” she said, smirking at him, and he nodded wordlessly, yanking off his vest before doing the same to his pants and smalls, groaning when his aching cock was finally freed to the open air. G’raha didn’t think he’d ever stripped this quickly in his entire life; in the corner of his eye he could see Tetri doing the same to her remaining items of clothing, and finally both Miqo’te were as naked as their namedays. G’raha stood up again, feeling his cheeks heat in an answering blush as Tetri examined his bare body, her ruby eyes gleaming with hunger, feeling her gaze on him. His cock twitched against his stomach as he saw her look at him, licking her lips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before she could speak, he reached forward, clasping her in his arms, and pulled her against him, taking her lips in a tender kiss. They moaned as their bare bodies slid against each other for the first time. Tetri clasped his arms, dragging him down to the pile of pillows strewn about the floor of the tent, and he followed, not breaking their kiss for even a moment. She wrapped her arms around him as he lay atop her, her fingers scalding him as she stroked his back before wrapping her hands around the base of his tail. G’raha dragged his lips from hers at the touch, groaning loudly, shuddering atop her. Tetri smirked up at him, clutching him with her dragoon’s strength, and in one swift movement she pushed him to the side, rolling them over so that she was on top of him, his back against the cushions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he groaned, reaching for her eagerly, so aroused that he couldn’t think straight, his cock painfully hard and leaking against his stomach. Before G’raha could grasp her hips and pull her astride him, however, she danced away from him, pressing her hands down onto his chest to hold him fast. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tetri, what--” he began, quieting when the purple-haired Miqo’te placed a finger on his lips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you think, after so many years of missing you, that I wouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>savor</span>
  </em>
  <span> you, Raha?” said Tetri, her voice low and trembling. “That I wouldn’t savor this, </span>
  <em>
    <span>us,</span>
  </em>
  <span> together? I don’t want to rush this. Let me love you slowly, Raha, as long as this lasts.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded wordlessly, relaxing back against the cushions despite his body shaking with desire for the Miqo’te woman above him. Tetri smiled at him, a gentle smile at odds with the longing in her eyes. She ran her fingers along his facial markings, and G’raha breathed out harshly at the touch, for it was intensely intimate, usually only done between longtime lovers or partners. She ran her hands across his cheeks, down his neck, where they lingered against his Circle of Knowing tattoos. Tetri smirked, leaning down to press a heated kiss on each one, and G’raha moaned desperately, his hips rocking up into the open air. She moved lower, mouthing gentle bites along his clavicle before pulling away once more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G’raha bit his tongue to keep from begging for more, wanting to trust in his Warrior. He dug his hands against the cushions surrounding him, fighting the urge to press her back into the floor and claim her body with his, so great was his need. He knew he was no Nuhn, had no desire to be one, but now that he was with Tetri, now that he knew the heat of her mouth and her body against his, he felt a surge of possessiveness rising in him, the nascent urge to </span>
  <em>
    <span>bite</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>claim,</span>
  </em>
  <span> an inheritance of his Miqo’te kind just as his crimson eyes were his inheritance of Allag. He watched as she peered down at him, watching him fight against his instincts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> you, Tetri,” he said, groaning as she shushed him and gently stroked his chest in an attempt to calm him, though all it did was make him rock his hips towards her again, his ears twitching. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, dear heart,” she replied, and began to run her hands up and down against his body. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need you too, and I won’t leave you wanting, I promise. Just let me touch you. Can you do that for me, Raha?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G’raha nodded, overcome by the heat of her hands all over him, and closed his eyes, trying not to shake beneath her.    </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri smirked at him as she ran her hands up and down his stomach and torso, enjoying the feel of light auburn hair dusting his chest and across his abs. She ran her hands down further, over his hip bones, deliberately avoiding touching his rock-hard cock which now lay throbbing against the juncture of his thighs. She stroked his hips, again, and G'raha shuddered and whined, arching upwards towards her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tetri, please...!" he said, opening his eyes and giving her a pleading look, and her grin widened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, I see, Raha," she said, a playful tone in her voice. "Just because I'm a dragoon, you want me to wield your lance for you?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She punctuated her words by dragging a single fingertip up the entire span of his length, from base to tip, relishing the ensuing gasp and full-body shudder she provoked in the handsome Miqo'te man beneath her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"By the Twelve, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Please touch me, Tetri!" he managed to gasp out, closing his eyes and rocking his hips up towards her, again. "If you don't, I fear I may die!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So dramatic, Raha," his Warrior replied, but was pleased at his longing for her. She gently closed her palm around his thick length, hard and hot and feeling like silken steel in her hand, and rewarded his zeal with a cautious stroke. He arched into her hand with a cry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh--</span>
  <em>
    <span>oh,</span>
  </em>
  <span> sweet Halone, gods </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" he said, his eyes closed tight as he lost himself in her tight grip around him. It felt better than he ever imagined, and this was just her hand on him. G'raha couldn't wait to be inside her, to feel her body wrap around his so intimately, but this was good too, her hand stroking him expertly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri felt an ache of satisfaction move through her as she watched her friend give himself over to her strokes on his cock. She wanted G'raha, but she also wanted this to last. She smirked at him again as she moved her hand over him sensually, unable to keep from teasing him a bit more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hmm, I see you're quite thick," she said. "You've got more of a rod or staff, here, than a lance. Are you sure you shouldn't have become a thaumaturge, after all?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He laughed, which then turned into a moan as she twisted her hand on him in just the right away, brushing her thumb across the head, spreading the wetness of his desire that had gathered there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I--</span>
  <em>
    <span>ah!</span>
  </em>
  <span>--I-d-don't really care what you call me, only that you please don't stop," he said, his voice shaking as he arched his hips faster into her ironclad grip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Raha, my love, I assure you, that’s the last thing I want to do right now,” said Tetri in a purr as she continued to stroke him, her mouth watering at the handsome man writhing into her grip. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He only groaned in reply, rocking his hips up into her, and Tetri couldn’t help herself. She leaned down and ran her tongue across the head of his cock, tasting his desire, and they both groaned as she did so. She took a shaky breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Raha, can I taste you?” she asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please,” he replied, unable to keep the pleading out of his voice. His Warrior was driving him mad! At this point he could deny her nothing; every ilm of him burned for her, in whatever way she wished. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” she said. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then Tetri leaned down and took his length into the heat of her mouth, and G’raha gave an undignified cry that was more of a yowl, having gone literal centuries with no further stimulation than his hand. Tetri took him deeper still, until he felt the head of his cock hit the back of her throat, and finally the Miqo’te man could stand no longer to be without her in some way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come here, love,” he said as she pleasured him with her mouth, managing to grasp her thighs from where she was bent over him on her knees, and pulled her insistently towards him, until she was straddled over his mouth. She mumbled around his cock, seeming to try to pull away, but he held her fast, his fingers tight about her hips above him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re absolutely mad, Tetri, if you think I don’t want to taste you back,” he said, and then G’raha yanked her down over his mouth, groaning as his tongue lapped at the soaked folds of her cunt. Tetri squealed around him, bobbing her head faster, her hands tightening on his hips to steady herself against G’raha’s sudden onslaught. He groaned in smug satisfaction, lapping at her juices, and dragged his tongue up to circle her clit, causing the Miqo’te woman to jolt forward and bob her head faster around his length. He captured her pearl between his lips, sucking gently just as he angled two fingers inside her welcoming heat.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She moaned harder, tightening her thighs curled on either side of him, her slick inner muscles clamping down over his fingers. G’raha felt delirious with the lust coursing through his younger body, his spell having transformed his body back to that of a young man, along with a young man’s vigor. Every bob of her head, every thrust of his fingers and low groan of pleasure from her, vibrating around his cock still buried in her mouth, filled him with rapture.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G’raha let himself get lost in her, then, figuring there were worse things than being smothered by his lover’s soaked center. He licked and sucked at her, thrusting his fingers deep inside her, making her cry out as pleasure seeped through her whole body, groaning as she answered with her own relentless strokes of her mouth on him. Finally, he managed to pull away to breathe, although he continued to thrust his fingers into her, feeling her shake above and around him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tetri,” G’raha said, grinning wickedly, though she couldn’t see his smile with her mouth otherwise preoccupied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmmf?” she replied with her mouth full of him, seemingly as lost in his taste as he was in hers. She squirmed above him as he crooked his fingers inside her, stroking over her g-spot, and he gripped his other hand possessively over her ass.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Am I making you feel good, Tetri?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The shaking of her thighs increased above him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm-hmm,” she mumbled back in the affirmative, unwilling to relinquish his length from her mouth, which was just fine as far as he was concerned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Naughty little minx,” G’raha teased. “Are you going to come on my fingers?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He smirked up at Tetri, angling his fingers so that he stroked that spot deep inside her with every thrust. She jolted above him with a small shriek, her long purple tail thrashing in the air, and she dug her nails into his thighs, making him groan and thrust up into the back of her throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I asked you a question, Tetri,” G’raha scolded her teasingly as he increased the pace of his thrusting fingers, rotating his fingertips just slightly against her spot again, enough to make her shake. “Answer me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri finally pulled her mouth off of his cock to utter a high, keening whine at her lover’s ministrations.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Y-yes, Raha,” she cried out breathlessly, her back arched in the air as G’raha overwhelmed her with his touch. “Yes, I’m going to come…!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good,” he said beneath her in a snarl, never ceasing the movement of his fingers deep inside her. “Do it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now!” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri shuddered in pleasure above him. She had no idea how G’raha had picked up on her hidden desire to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>claimed,</span>
  </em>
  <span> to </span>
  <em>
    <span>submit</span>
  </em>
  <span> to a lover’s command, but she loved it, just like she loved everything about him. He knew her so well, it didn’t surprise the Warrior of Light in the slightest that he had intuited such a want in her, something she barely understood about herself. In the course of her journey early on, Tetri hadn’t had time to explore such interests with the few one-night trysts she’d had, and as the Warrior of Light, she felt almost guilty when she realized the nature of such a desire involved submission to another, figuring such a thing almost equated to a personal weakness. Even still, G’raha didn’t make her feel weak, and she trusted him, trusted him enough to share her body and her heart. Giving in to his touch felt freeing to her in a way few things had, and so she let him take her higher, feeling her body tighten around him as she neared her peak. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G’raha hummed beneath her in satisfaction, feeling her trembling around his thrusting fingers, and brought his mouth up to her, circling her clit with his tongue as he fucked her with his fingers as fast as he could.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Raha!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she cried, and then she uttered a shrill scream as she felt herself tumble off the edge.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tetri,” he gasped out as he felt her tense and then shudder around his fingers. The sound of her finding her release because of him was amongst the sweetest he’d ever heard. He tried to etch into his memory the music of her whimper, the curve of her hips above him as she trembled and shook, the taste of her juices still dripping down his chin. She was gorgeous, beautiful, his Warrior of Light undone by him. And right now, in this moment, this dream space he’d created for them out of his magic, she was all </span>
  <em>
    <span>his!</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, Tetri uttered one more whimper before going limp above him, still shaking from the sheer force of her earlier release, barely holding herself up above him on shaking limbs. She found the remaining strength to roll over onto her back on the cushions to the side of him, and G’raha sat up slowly, wiping his mouth half-heartedly as he watched the Miqo’te woman pant, putting an arm over her eyes as she recovered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seven </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hells,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Raha,” she muttered, but she was smiling, and G’raha gave a small laugh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“More like Seven </span>
  <em>
    <span>Heavens,</span>
  </em>
  <span> from the way you cried out earlier,” he said, not bothering to hide the smugness in his voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri snorted, her ears twitching in amusement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So modest,” she said. She put her arm down, looking up at him, and her ruby eyes were glassy, whether from exertion or orgasm, or both, G’raha couldn’t tell, but they held nothing but love for him in their depths, and he had to remind himself to breathe. She just looked at him for a moment as her breathing slowed, and reached out a hand to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G’raha took her hand in his, stroking the backs of her fingers with his own. He idly wondered how her palm, so callused from hoisting a lance for years, could also feel so soft against his skin. That thought made him think about what would happen after their night together, about what would happen once their mission in the First was concluded (though, of course, he wouldn’t be alive to witness it). G’raha took a breath, biting back tears. Now was not the time to say goodbye to her, not just yet...for the time they yet had together, he had to focus on the present, on what moments of love they got to share, no matter how short! If this time was all they had, G’raha would see to it he would love her to the fullest!    </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you want to do now?” he asked softly, and she gripped his hand tighter, her smile widening as she looked up at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I want to taste myself on your lips,” she murmured, and G’raha felt his entire body heat up in a blush. He laughed nervously, his ears twitching, and licked his lips, not missing how she stared at the motion, her eyes darkening with want. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sweet </span>
  <em>
    <span>Halone,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he whispered, and she laughed at how flustered he had become. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anything else?” he asked, halfway jokingly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri hummed to herself, placing a finger to her chin in mock thought, before smirking up at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I was going to follow that by making love to you,” she said, her tail thrashing beneath her, and G’raha felt his also begin to writhe in the air behind him. “If that’s...amenable to you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G’raha gave his own snort of laughter in response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If by ‘amenable’ you mean ‘I would like nothing more in </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> world,’ then yes, Tetri, I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>amenable,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he said, moving slowly closer to her, closing the distance between them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then come here, Raha,” she said, pulling him to her by the hand, and she parted her thighs so he could settle between them. Then he was holding himself up above her on trembling limbs, breathing heavily in anticipation. Before he could grow more nervous than he already was, Tetri wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him down to her, taking his lips in a tender kiss. He groaned into her mouth, jolting as he felt his cock stroke against her soaked folds. Tetri sighed, enjoying the taste of herself on his lips, and rocked up into him, feeling the tip of him enter her. The Miqo’te pair moaned as one from the feeling, shaking in each other’s arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Raha,” she gasped, impatient to feel him inside her at last, “come </span>
  <em>
    <span>on</span>
  </em>
  <span>--”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Y-yes, a-alright--” he said, his voice shaking, fumbling between them to take himself in hand, stroking himself more firmly against her and rocking his hips forward. Then he felt her slick heat surround him, so wet and tight he felt lightheaded, gasping as he just barely managed to hold himself up without falling atop his lover beneath him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck!” he said, gasping, and groaned as Tetri wrapped her legs around his hips, holding him tightly to her. G’raha panted against her shoulder, and Tetri kissed his cheek, his neck, nipping at his shoulder before leaning up towards his ear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s the idea, love,” she whispered, following up with a playful bite at the tip of his ear, the stimulation making him thrust deeper into her, and then it was her turn to groan as pleasure coiled within her. G’raha took her lips again as he rocked into her over and over again, kissing her so deeply that they were both lightheaded when forced to break the kiss to gasp for air. He grinned as he looked down at her, meeting his hips with hers, his ears and tail thrashing as he fucked her as deep as he could. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is this </span>
  <em>
    <span>amenable</span>
  </em>
  <span> to you, my love?” said the Miqo’te man with a smirk, reaching a hand between them to caress her breasts, his fingers pinching her nipples lightly, and Tetri swore as she arched into his touch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah</span>
  </em>
  <span>--fuck, Raha, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she cried, pressing herself against him with a moan.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see,” G’raha said, unable to keep the smugness from his voice. “Then you wouldn’t mind if I do this…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not ceasing the movement of his hips into hers, he leaned down and took her nipple into his mouth, suckling her gently, before paying the same attention to her other breast, licking at her while massaging the other in his palm.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Raha</span>
  </em>
  <span>--gods!" she cried out, the ecstasy of his length inside her increasing tenfold with the heat of his mouth on her breast. She rocked her hips up to meet his, helpless but to chase her pleasure further, and G'raha made a small moan as he released her, bracing himself above her once more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes, Tetri, my love!" he said, panting, his ears twitching as he rocked into her steadily, savoring the way she was moaning his name beneath him. Her mouth was wide open, slack with the pleasure he was giving her, her ears bent nearly all the way back against her hair, her cheeks flushed, ruby eyes glazed over with lust. His Warrior was a vision of desire surrounding him, his dream of love made real, and G'raha trembled as a kind of passionate awe moved through his body. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He snarled, bending down to claim her lips in a furious, almost angry kiss as he surged deeper into her, swallowing her moans. To think that Tetri had felt the same wild desire for him that she was showing him now, back in their adventuring days, to think G'raha could have had her like this back then! It was too much for the time mage to take, and he groaned against her lips as he felt her kiss him back with an angry growl, nipping and biting gently. G'raha smirked as he yielded, tearing his lips from hers finally so that they could both gasp for air. He grinned down at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It seems like you like it when I kiss you firmly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ser Dragoon,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" he teased, timing his comment with a hard thrust inside her that made her cry out in a muffled curse. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah!</span>
  </em>
  <span>--And--</span>
  <em>
    <span>oh!</span>
  </em>
  <span>--i-it seems like you're a smug bastard, </span>
  <em>
    <span>G'raha Tia,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" she replied breathily, but she grinned back up at him as they did not cease their union, and Tetri's grin widened as she dragged her fingernails down his chest, enjoying G'raha's loud moan as she pinched his nipples with her fingers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"T-that's a--</span>
  <em>
    <span>ah!</span>
  </em>
  <span>--a hypothesis that I would tend to agree with," he stammered, "but I think more field research is needed to confirm it!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri looked deep into his red eyes that she loved so much, watched as his slitted pupils seemed to fully dilate, peering down at her with his striking gaze, the red and black threatening to swallow her up in their endless depths of desire. She moved her hands up to stroke the feathery, soft red fur of his ears, running her thumbs over the very tips of them, and G'raha cried out, arching his back at the touch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, gods, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tetri...!"</span>
  </em>
  <span> he said in a sigh, shaking against her hold, and she saw his eyes fill with tears. "I love you so damn much!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He groaned again, burying his face in her neck, kissing whatever part of her he could reach, and she wrapped her arms and legs around him, trying to soothe him, rubbing his back in gentle circles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I love you too, G'raha," she whispered, placing a kiss on his shoulder. "So much..."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She felt G'raha shiver in her arms at her words, her neck wet with his tears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Please, don't cry," she said, clinging to him, her voice also shaking. "Not right now, my love, not like this! Tell me what I can do, to see you smile again?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She felt him mumble something into her shoulder, and her ears twitched, straining to hear him. G'raha pulled back to look at her once more, his eyes bloodshot from crying, but he smiled down at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Tetri, just being like this, with you, here," he said, "is enough to make me smile for the rest of my days. Yet, if you would honor me with more, I would very much like to watch you come again..."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then it was Tetri’s turn to blush at her lover’s brazen request. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I--I don’t--” she said, but he shook his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t what, Tetri?”he said, his voice firm, challenging her even as he smiled knowingly at her. “Don’t want to come? Don’t want me to watch you? I already did </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> of those things, before, when you were sitting on my face, and it didn’t seem to bother you. Or have I worn you out already, after just getting started?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri felt her face burn in a deeper blush at the Miqo’te scholar’s blunt terminology of their earlier activities. She glared at her lover above her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like hells you have,” she said in a snarl. “I’d be the one wearing </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> out, Raha, like as not!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then you’ll let me make you come again,” he said, grinning, “and we can truly see who wears the other out, first. Is that amenable, beloved?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She laughed despite her earlier annoyance at him. “I’m regretting using that word around you, Raha,” she said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s why I’m using it so often, though,” he said with a laugh, stroking a hand down her cheeks, across her facial markings, having many more than him, and she blinked back tears at the unexpectedly tender touch. “Because my beloved told it to me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Raha…” she whispered, closing her eyes so he wouldn’t see her tears, but he knew. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, alright,” said Tetri, spreading her legs further and arching into his thrusts. “Make me come again, love...I want to, for you…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tetri, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he said with a groan, reaching down and gently settling her legs on his shoulders, before thrusting into her once more. In this position, the Miqo’te woman could barely move, pinned down by the full weight of G’raha’s body, and every thrust inside her brought his length against that spot inside her that made her whole being ache with pleasure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri remembered hearing her Nuhn talk about this position to his harem wives, long ago, and the memory made her tense up for a moment, the experience having made her vow that she would never take a Miqo’te man as her lover, as it had seemed to her that all that the males of her kind viewed females for was mating. She could see why a possessive male Miqo’te like a Nuhn would enjoy this position, as she could barely move, and she swallowed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G’raha slowed his movements into her, panting and looking down at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you alright, my love?” he asked, his crimson eyes full of nothing but concern and adoration. “Do you want me to stop?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This is G’raha,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>G’raha Tia, the man I love--the </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>Miqo’te</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> man I love! Not some damned good-for-nothing Nuhn trying to stake a claim! Why shouldn’t I find my own pleasure in this?!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If her dragon soul were awake, she was certain it would have snarled in agreement with her at the thought. Tetri felt her previous tension leave her steadily as she smiled up at him.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s alright,” she said, “you can keep going.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded, his red ears twitching. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let me know if you need me to stop,” he said, and she nodded. Then he began to rock into her again, hissing as the heat of her body filled him with pleasure. Tetri shuddered, her legs beginning to shake atop his shoulders as she felt G’raha’s cock fill her again and again, his thrusts making him reach that spot within her that made her pleasure spiral ever higher. She bent her head back, overwhelmed, closing her eyes and uttering a moan as she surrendered to him, to the ecstasy of his body inside her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, fuck, </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Raha…! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Raha!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she cried out, feeling herself near the edge once more.    </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span> come for me,” he said, gasping as he slammed into her. “Touch yourself, Tetri!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri groaned but obeyed him, stroking her clit and timing her strokes with his thrusts, until she felt herself tighten around him, shuddering with her imminent release. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Twelve,</span>
  <em>
    <span> fuck…!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>said Tetri, then she uttered a shrill scream as she found her bliss at last, rapture filling every ilm of her being.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G’raha groaned deeply, biting his lip to keep from coming inside her as he watched his Warrior of Light pant and moan in bliss beneath him. He slowed his strokes until he had stopped moving completely, putting her legs down gently and pulling out of her to enfold her in his arms, kissing her forehead. The scholar held her tightly as Tetri continued to shake against him, panting as she caught her breath. They lay together quietly on their pile of cushions, listening to each other’s slowing breath as they rested in each other’s arms, enjoying the sanctuary of their dream world, where nothing else mattered except </span>
  <em>
    <span>each other.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G’raha wasn’t sure how long they lay there, together, but finally, he saw Tetri look up at him, her ruby eyes luminous beneath the lanterns hanging from the tent ceiling overhead. Her eyes held a hidden sorrow, but she smiled at him, stroking his cheek. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Raha...I don’t know how long we have here, in this place,” she said, unable to keep her voice from shaking. Tetri didn’t know why she was bothering to explain herself to a dream fragment, no matter that it had taken the form of the Miqo’te man she’d lost so long ago, the man she would love no matter what form he took. He reached out and placed a finger on her lips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tetri--I know,” said G’raha. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know,</span>
  </em>
  <span> but--we still have time, yet, to love each other.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He cupped her cheeks, pulling her in for a kiss that was as desperate as it was sweet, kissing her as if his love alone would keep their dream alive forever. Tetri recognized the distraction for what it was, but she agreed with G’raha. She was no mage, but she could feel the magic surrounding them, tingling but still solid for the time being. She still couldn’t fathom how it all had happened, but at that moment, in her lover’s arms, being kissed soundly by him, she didn’t much care. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri steadily felt the burning greed of lust fill her once more, lust for </span>
  <em>
    <span>G’raha Tia!</span>
  </em>
  <span> She leaned back against the cushions and yanked G’raha on top of her, not stopping their kiss, and the Miqo’te man growled against her mouth as he moved his hips against hers and rocked his length inside her again, making them both sigh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He made her come several more times, with his tongue and his cock and his fingers, drunk on his Warrior's taste, maddened by her scent, addicted to the way she screamed his name when she reached her peak. In turn, she scalded him with her touch, running her hands over his chest, his neck, making him groan and shudder in her arms as she stroked his sensitive ears and tail. He gasped sharply as she pinched his nipples, taking away her fingers to soothe the sting by the heat of her mouth, and he arched his back, the jolt of pain making his cock throb from where he was buried inside her to the hilt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She finally paused, laying back against the cushioned floor, and looked up at him with an unspoken question in her eyes.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What is it?" he asked, peering down at her, their bodies still intertwined.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You--you didn't get your turn," said Tetri, looking up at him questioningly as she stroked his cheek with gentle fingers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G'raha smiled, turning to kiss her palm before looking back at her.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's not always about reaching climax, Tetri," he said. "I just want to be close to you now, as close as I can possibly get."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri couldn't help but smile back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Alright, I get that," she said, "but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> you to come, as well."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G'raha huffed out a laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't have any doubt I'll get there, my love," he said, "sooner or later. For now, I just want to make love to you."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We're definitely agreed on that point," she replied, leaning up to kiss him, unable to get enough of G'raha's lips on hers, enough of his body against her, inside her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Let's switch things up a little," he murmured against her lips, grasping her hips firmly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Put your arms around me," he said, and Tetri did so. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In one swift motion G'raha sat back on his heels, pulling her with him, and crossed his legs beneath her, grunting as he barely avoided sitting on his tail. Tetri found herself sitting astride the Miqo'te man in his lap, with his cock still buried inside her. She gave an experimental thrust of her hips, making them both shudder and groan, and G'raha ran his hands up her back, leaving trails of heat in his wake. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ah, Raha, you feel incredible like this!" said Tetri, gasping at the pleasure of him surrounding her utterly, feeling so full and hot she felt like she might explode. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her dragon soul was silent, so quiet as to be absent, and with it, her dragonfire was also absent; perhaps it could not coexist with her in this strange dream space. Either way, there was no dragon's blood burning her up, only G'raha's body, his love enveloping her, driving her to heights of ecstasy she hadn't been aware she could reach before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Raha!" she cried out, pleasure spiraling through her body, low in her spine before climbing upwards through every nerve, every fiber of her being straining for the pleasure only he could bring her!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes, my love," he said, panting as he thrust up into her, "tell me what you want!" His fingers tightened around her in an iron grip as she rode him towards her peak.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Want </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>--so much," she managed in between a moan and a gasp, her hands fisting through his short red hair, her hips rocking against his furiously as she took his length as deep as she could. They both groaned and pulled each other close as he bottomed out inside her, their tails thrashing behind them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tetri!</span>
  </em>
  <span>" said G'raha, his red ears bent back against his hair, his face flushed, hissing as he felt her tighten around him. "That's right, tell me more...!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Love me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Raha," said Tetri in a desperate plea, overcome as the Miqo'te man claimed her within and without. "Love me, </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> me, whatever you want, I'm yours...</span>
  <em>
    <span>gods, yes! Raha!</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>yours,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he whispered, holding her against him, stroking her back, down to her tail and across her thighs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He left desperate kisses against her neck, against the swell of her breasts, the corner of her mouth. G’raha finally leaned her backwards in his arms and pressed her back into the cushions, rearing above her body and finally taking her as he had always dreamed, back in their adventuring days. Tetri moaned, shaking in his hold, feeling G’raha’s rising desperation in the way he touched and kissed her, feeling his own sense of finality, of their time together running out. She couldn’t stop her eyes from flooding with tears, even as ecstasy filled her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh gods, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Raha</span>
  </em>
  <span>," she said, crying openly now, and he felt tears of his own burn in his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"How am I supposed to keep fighting without you?" she said, rocking into him relentlessly, leaning in to kiss his lips. "How can I move forward, knowing I could have loved you like this!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wrapped her arms around him, kissing his forehead, his cheeks, anywhere she could reach, her breath hitching in a sob as they moved together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I will </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> be with you," he said, his voice strained with emotion, and clutched her tighter against him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cupped her cheek in his palm, raising her head so he could look at her, into those ruby eyes he loved so much. "No matter where you are, no matter where I am, our hearts will always be connected by love. Please, please believe me, Tetri! Do you believe me?"  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes," she whispered, "yes, Raha, I believe you!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She buried her face into his shoulder, her long ears tickling where they twitched against his cheek. G'raha caught himself choking back tears of his own, and tried to ignore them by rolling his hips slower as he rocked back inside her, trying to draw out the moment, to make them both last as long as possible. His short tail thrashed against the small of his back as he watched Tetri meet him thrust for thrust, her slick heat gripping him tightly. If it hadn't been a dream, he was sure the bliss of being inside her physically would make his head spin. As it was, the surreal quality of it muted the sensation, somewhat, but they were still linked together intimately even still, the merging of their dream bodies no less pleasurable or intense.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G'raha reached down, stroking her cheek, tilting her chin up with a hand to kiss her. Tetri groaned into his mouth as he twined their tongues together, and he shivered in her arms as she stroked his ears, thrusting forward sharply on instinct. The Warrior of Light jolted against him, the curves of her breasts stroking against his chest as his length brushed the entrance to her womb. She tore her mouth from his to gasp his name, and he leaned down to take her nipple into his mouth, suckling her again, laving her with his tongue before paying her other breast the same attention. G'raha made a muffled sound against her breast as she yanked his hair roughly at the feeling of his hot mouth on her, the stimulation flooding her entire body with a wave of bliss. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh!</span>
  </em>
  <span>--gods, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Raha,</span>
  </em>
  <span> yes, like that...!" she cried, stroking her hands through his short red locks, before dragging her fingers down his back to grasp his shorter tail, the same auburn color as his hair. As he continued to worship her breasts, she wrapped a hand around the base of G'raha's tail, stroking it firmly where it met the small of his back, running her other hand down its length, enjoying the feeling of soft fur in her hands. The Miqo'te man released her with a gasp.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ah!--fuck, Tetri...!" he said, shuddering in her arms as he was overstimulated by her insistent stroking of his tail. He could feel her own tail writhing against his back as he gave another hard thrust into her welcoming heat, grinning as he watched her body jostle beneath him, as she groaned and bent her head back, eyes closing in bliss. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I love having you like this," said G'raha, "touching you, making love to you. Gods, you're so fucking wet for me!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He bit his lip as he felt her tighten around him at his words. He watched Tetri open her eyes, fixing him with a look of pure lust, her slitted pupils almost fully dilated. He imagined his must look the same to her. He smiled at the deep red blush spreading over her face and neck as he continued claiming her body relentlessly. It seemed she was easily embarrassed by dirty talk, but not enough to ask him to stop. That meant G'raha wanted to keep doing it, to enjoy this moment where all of Tetri's emotional walls weren't present, where she allowed herself to be vulnerable with him as a lover, as an ordinary person. Even in a dream, it was a gift he would treasure always. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He grabbed her legs, pushing them up and even further apart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Look down and watch me fuck you, Tetri," he ordered, panting, feeling himself grin further in satisfaction as she did so, craning her head so she could watch his cock disappear inside her drenched folds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Do you like that, beautiful?" he said, breathing hard as he slammed into her, the tent filling with the sound of their bodies joining, jarringly loud even in their shared dreamspace. "You like how I fuck you?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Gods, Raha, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you fuck me so good!" said Tetri, blushing an even deeper shade of red as he released one of her legs to drag his fingers to where they were joined, getting his fingertips good and wet before stroking her clit. The Warrior of Light gave a sharp cry as he caressed that part of her, closing her eyes and arching backwards beneath him as pleasure coursed through her. G'raha gave a cry of his own as he felt her dripping cunt clench tighter around his length, fighting back the urge to spill inside her.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah!</span>
  </em>
  <span>--Gods, yes,” he moaned, arching his back, and Tetri opened his eyes to watch him moving above her, watched his crimson eyes shimmer as they looked at her, his auburn hair tangled and unkempt, sweaty about his forehead, his ears bent back. She could see the tip of his red tail twitching behind him, the same way his tail would twitch when G’raha discovered something especially intriguing, and Tetri felt a wave of love wash over her for this alternately silly and serious Miqo’te scholar. The Warrior of Light enjoyed how he slid against the front of her body as he rocked into her, their bodies now slick with sweat. She was still unsure how they could be so sweaty in a dream, or why this experience felt so utterly real to her even though she was asleep. She wondered why it felt that she and G’raha were truly tangled together, why it felt like he was actually inside her, every stroke of his cock inside her making her drunk with pleasure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He saw her watching him, her ruby eyes gleaming like a sunset, and smiled, reaching down to take her lips in a greedy kiss, biting her lower lip, timing it with a slow grind inside her, working his cock deeper into her, and she mewled against his mouth. He released her lips to fuck her faster, linking his hands with hers above her head as they moved together, their fingers intertwined.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tell me I’m the only one, Tetri,” he whispered, “the only Miqo’te man you’ve ever had!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s just you, Raha,” she replied in a gasp, arching against him. “It’s only you!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, it’s only </span>
  <em>
    <span>me,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” replied G’raha in a snarl, snapping his hips against hers, making her gasp as he took her roughly, a wave of possessiveness rushing through him at her words. He tightened his hold on her fingers, holding her down as they moved together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can have anyone else you want,” he said, pinning her with his gaze, “fuck any Elezen, any Hyur you want, but I want to be the only Miqo’te man who gets to have you like this! I want you to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>mine!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Say you’ll be mine, beautiful!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes!” she cried, arching up against him, unable to look away from those deep red eyes. “Yes, G’raha, you’re the only one I want! I want to be yours!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G’raha uttered a deep groan as he felt her inner walls flutter around him. She was close, he could feel it, as was he. Still, he wanted this to last; he never wanted this dream to end! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I want your heat, too,” he said, watching her blush in reply. “I want to share your heat, Tetri. Say you will.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I--I--I’m on heat blocking potions,” she stammered, “I haven’t had one for years!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She felt herself flushing at the very idea of being in heat with G’raha Tia, ignoring the fact that they were in two different worlds and that doing such a thing would actually be physically impossible. In that moment, with their bodies and hearts entwined so intimately, his request made complete sense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When you want to, then,” he replied, “or if you need to stop them, then I want to share your heat with you. I want to show you how good it can be, to make love during a heat. I want to give you all of me!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took one of his hands from hers and stroked the back of her neck, fingertips brushing against her hidden scent gland, and she shuddered.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I want to bite you, here,” he whispered, “mark you, so everyone will know that you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>mine.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He claimed her lips in a rough kiss, letting his possessiveness bleed through into her, unable to help groaning into her mouth as she wound her arms and legs about him even tighter with her dragoon’s strength. He shuddered as he felt her tail stroke down his back before wrapping around his own, an act of deep intimacy for Miqo’te couples, nearly as intimate as sharing one’s birth name.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Along with the bliss of that moment, when G’raha allowed himself to picture a sort of future together with his Warrior, regardless of the demands of their titles or their worlds, that was when he felt the sure, steady disintegration of his dream spell begin. His body was younger in the dream, but he was still a time mage back in the First, and he felt the delicate thread of the Allagan magics surrounding them begin to fray at the seams, warping beyond repair. G’raha had a feeling that they had pushed the spell to its very limits by intertwining their soul aether for so long, insistent as they had been in their lovemaking, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel any onze of regret, only a desperation to hold on to the woman in his arms, to love his Warrior for as long as he still could!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He rose up to look at her beneath him, panting as he felt his own release finally building. He had been grateful for the vigor of his youthful body, but even he had his limits! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tetri, I need to see you come,” said G'raha, staring into her eyes, and his heartfelt plea sent a shudder of ecstasy through her as he pinned the Warrior of Light with his passionate gaze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Raha, please!” she begged, openly crying now. “I d-don't want to, not if this means I have to say goodbye to you...!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G'raha answered her with a sob of his own, managing to slow his pace only slightly, unable to stop chasing the bliss both of their bodies demanded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You won't, Tetri,” he replied with a gasp. “I told you, we'll always be connected--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>aren't real,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she whispered, turning her head to the side with a sob, looking away from him, her tears running freely. “I can't be connected to a dream--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is no dream, Tetri!” he cried, no longer able to bear inflicting even this amount of subterfuge upon his beloved, cupping her cheek with a hand and forcing her to look at him once more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> this is </span>
  <em>
    <span>real!</span>
  </em>
  <span> It's really me, G'raha T'ia!” he said, weeping, willing her to understand, watching her as understanding flooded her eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“R-Raha,” she whispered with awe. “It really </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> you, isn't it?! I-I thought for sure I couldn't have just imagined you--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'm </span>
  <em>
    <span>sorry,</span>
  </em>
  <span> my love,” he replied, and his tears dripped onto her skin. Neither of them tried to wipe them away. “I'm so sorry, but I couldn't bear to be away from you any longer. I had to tell you how I felt, how much I </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved</span>
  </em>
  <span> you--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You're </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Raha,” she gasped, wrapping her arms around him, “alive in the tower?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” he gasped out, rocking into her, both of them grasping at each other with renewed urgency. “I used my powers, reached--reached out to you, made this dream space for us--oh, Tetri, I--I love you...!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Raha, I love you too! I </span>
  <em>
    <span>don't care</span>
  </em>
  <span> that you lied,” she said, kissing his cheek, his neck, his shoulder, anywhere she could reach. “I know you didn't want to hurt me--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can't bear hurting you,” he said, moaning into her neck as he neared the edge of his pleasure. “I can't bear to be away from you--I love you so much!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Raha, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>--please, I need you! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Don't leave me!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> said Tetri, hating the desperation in her voice, clutching him to her tightly, their bodies slipping over each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Never,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he said, though they both knew that wasn't true. They could both feel their shared dream space shifting as they reached towards their shared peak, the magical energies warping around them, the fabric of their shared aether steadily rending asunder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The truth of their time together, swiftly coming to an end, hung over the two Miqo'te lovers like a pall, and they both seemed to accept it at the same time.They were both crying against each other, clinging to one another desperately as they both felt the magic holding the space about them begin to fray, their tears hot against each other's skin, mingling with the sweat on their bodies. Still, neither ceased their motions, and the lovers continued rocking together, their desire for each other too great even under the weight of their imminent parting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G'raha sobbed quietly into Tetri's shoulder, stroking her ears, his other arm wrapped about her back. Tetri ran her hands over his back, stroking his ears and tail, trying to soothe him, even as she continued to cry silently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't want to let you go," he said in a whisper, his throat hoarse with both pleasure and sorrow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Then don't," she said. "Do you mean what you said, Raha? That you love me?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He pulled back from her to look into her eyes, and she watched as he smiled down at her through his tears, his crimson eyes watery, but filled with so much love, as deep and mysterious as the Rift, that she trembled from having such a love fixed upon her. He stroked her cheek tenderly with shaking fingers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I love you, Tetri, my Warrior," he said, "with every fiber of my being, with everything that I am. I know this as a truth, greater than anything else I've ever known."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri smiled through her tears, and reached up to stroke his cheek in turn.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Full glad am I to hear it, Raha," she said, proud that her voice shook only slightly. "Then listen well, for I know this to be my truth."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She reached upwards, and he leaned downwards to listen, his red ears twitching.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"G'raha Tia, I will love you </span>
  <em>
    <span>forever,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" said Tetri, and she began to weep anew beneath him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sheer gravity of her words, the formality of the use of his full name, as well as the magic of the dream crackling through his body, the declaration of the infinitude of her love for him, not even knowing the significance of such a statement on his knowledge of time magics, drew a moan of love and grief out of G'raha. His tears seemed endless, drifting over them both like rain as he wept. He had spent centuries alone, loving her from afar; during all that time he could never have hoped to even touch the woman he loved, to hold her close, let alone make love to her. To have heard that Tetri loved him so deeply, to hear no onze of doubt in her words, left G'raha shaken.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He whispered her name, then grasped her to him with a strength that surprised them both, and claimed her lips with his, kissing her fiercely, as if the strength of it would keep him sealed to her for all time. Deep down, G'raha hoped that perhaps a part of him would remain imprinted upon her heart, upon the aether of her soul, long after the Rift had claimed his own. He prayed to the Mother Crystal and the Twelve that it would, if only to lighten the weight of loss on Tetri's heart. Still, he knew neither of them regretted this night together, the gift that was a dream of love. For them--the Warrior of Light and Darkness, and the Crystal Exarch--it was a dream to be forever cherished. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He finally pulled his lips from hers so they both could gasp for air, then surged his hips into her urgently, defiantly claiming her body as he felt the magic of his spell near its end. He thrust into her as deep as he could, wringing a cry from her, gasping as he felt her wet heat tighten around him. He felt his own release stirring at the base of his spine, and he couldn’t hold himself back any longer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Need to see you come," he managed to grate out, moving his hands over her ass before grasping her hips firmly. “Please, Tetri, come with me…!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They both moaned as she tightened around him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Raha...</span>
  <em>
    <span>yes!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she cried out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Miqo’te pair gripped each other tightly, pleasure spiraling through them both, and then G’raha Tia--the Crystal Exarch--opened his mouth and uttered a shout of triumph, arching his back, pure ecstasy flooding his entire being as he reached his bliss inside her. He heard Tetri cry out in her own pleasure, felt her shaking beneath him, and opened his eyes to look at her, when his racing heart skipped a beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri was fading, turning transparent in his arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their soul aether was returning to the aetherial form it had always held.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their dream was coming apart at last. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri gasped, looking above as her lover’s body began to fade, as the original light energy of the spell surrounded them. She uttered a desperate cry, reaching up to grasp at him, and they both watched in dismay as her fingers moved right through him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Raha--Raha, NO! </span>
  <em>
    <span>RAHA!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she cried out, and G’raha wept as he felt the magical currents pulling them apart as the spell ended. He felt himself drift backwards from her, watching their bodies fade like mist in a dusk-laden sky. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tetri...</span>
  <em>
    <span>TETRI!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he cried, reaching his hand out to hers, forcing himself not to look away from her ruby eyes, more precious to him than any jewel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The lovers watched each other steadily disappear, weeping as they were forcibly pulled apart by the same magic that had brought them together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>RAHA!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Tetri cried out, uttering a scream of desolation as she watched G’raha Tia shout at her soundlessly, no longer able to hear his words, and finally, the body of the man she loved vanished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Warrior of Light screamed silently as the darkness of sleep rose up to claim her, as her own dream body faded. As she lost consciousness, Tetri could still hear G’raha’s voice, the words of her beloved echoing like sweet music in her mind…</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Tetri, my love…I will love you, forever…”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>* * *</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“RAHA!” said Tetri in a shout, sitting up in her bed, disoriented, fighting to free herself from her sweat-drenched bedsheets. She panted, looking about her, and finally recognized her suite. She was back, in the Pendants, back in the world of the First. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Raha,” she gasped, stumbling out of bed, finally freeing herself from the sheets and standing in the middle of her room, naked and drenched in sweat. She curled her arms and tail about herself, shaking, reeling from her emotions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That--I was dreaming, but--” she said aloud, trying to calm herself, to make sense of what she had experienced. “It--it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>real,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he said it was! I felt him, I felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>us</span>
  </em>
  <span>…!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In her panic, Tetri looked down at her body, making sure she was real and solid. She was, but then she saw something that made her heart stutter in her breast:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A bruise, across her hip. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Like someone had grasped her so tightly, they had left a mark.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri gasped, then looked at her other hip, noting a similar mark there as well. She ran to the mirror, examining her body, and felt her heart plummet with anguish.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her body was covered with similar marks. There were hickeys all over her neck, across her breasts, and her lips were swollen and bitten, like someone had kissed her senseless. Even her ears were sore from where she could feel they had been nipped at, and the base of her tail was aching from being pulled. Then there was the telltale ache between her thighs, a soreness that could only have arisen through passionate lovemaking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri opened her mouth, whimpering, watching tears fall silently down her cheeks, feeling her heart break into two.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>real.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>G’raha Tia had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>real,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and so had their dream!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So had their </span>
  <em>
    <span>love!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Raha…” she whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had </span>
  <em>
    <span>lost him.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had lost G'raha Tia.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For the second time, she had lost the man she loved.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri stumbled to her knees, weeping silently, crying so hard she was no longer able to see the mirror in front of her. The Miqo'te buried her head in her hands, and uttered a wail of despair, groaning with the grief of a heart twice broken. Her dragon soul stirred in her mind, awakened at last, uttering a low growl of sorrow as it felt her sadness as its own. She crumpled to the floor, unable to control her cries, which were growing steadily in volume.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Tetri?! Are you in there?!" she heard a cry from behind the front door of her suite, then a crash as the door was forced open.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She heard the patter of footsteps rushing towards her, and she looked up blearily to see the twins looking down at her with concern, clad only in their sleepwear. Their looks of affectionate concern only drew the Warrior of Light to begin weeping once more, and Alisaie was the first one kneeling on the floor, putting her arms around her lover.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Tetri, it's okay," she whispered into Tetri's ear, petting her hair as the Miqo'te woman wept inconsolably.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"H-hold me," she said, her voice hoarse, clinging to Alisaie's nightshirt as if she would be lost without her. "D-d-don't let go, Alisaie...!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Never," said Alisaie, clutching the Miqo'te tighter, feeling tears building in her eyes at her beloved's state.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alphinaud did the same, kneeling and enfolding Tetri in his arms from the other side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We've got you, Tetri," he whispered, kissing the back of her neck, and then the Leveilleur twins were holding her tightly as she cried, mired in her grief.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Far away in the Ocular, unbeknownst to Tetri or either of her Scions, the Crystal Exarch lay before his crystal screen, watching his beloved cry over him, and the Miqo'te man was crying so hard the front of his Allagan robes were soaked with his tears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"My love," he whispered, stroking the view screen with his crystal hand, "I meant what I said. I will love you, forever..."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thus did the two lovers, the Crystal Exarch and his Warrior of Light and Darkness--bound by time, separated by Fate, forever connected in their hearts--weep over love found and lost.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>* * *</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri had pulled herself together enough to get ready for the trip to Il Mheg. She had showered, dressed and put on her armor and lance in a daze that morning, her mind blank, her heart weighed down like lead. Together with Thancred and Minfilia, she and the Leveilleur twins had met the Crystal Exarch in the Ocular to discuss their trip to the domain of the faeries, in order to rendezvous with Urianger. Normally, the prospect of seeing the bookish Elezen again would make her excited, but Tetri felt worn by the pain of her grief, unable to feel anything but empty. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t miss the concerned looks Alphinaud and Alisaie had given her throughout their trek to the Ocular, but they hadn’t pried at all, even when they had held her while she cried, even though they had surely noticed the marks on her body. Tetri couldn’t even begin to explain it to them; she was grateful for their respect for her privacy. She loved them without question, but she wanted to nurse the hurt of this particular grief alone. It was all she had left of G’raha Tia, and Tetri felt weirdly possessive of her memories of him, wanting to keep them to herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stared at the Crystal Exarch as the others spoke to him, suddenly fed up with the hooded man’s flippant attitude, with his insistence on his damn secrecy!  Tetri felt her gut churn with growing rage, furious at the man. He ordered her and her Scions about as if he were a general instead of a mage, leaving them with only scraps of information, while they put their very lives in danger for him and the First! Would the Exarch demand that Tetri sacrifice more of the people she loved?!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Over my dead body!</span>
  </em>
  <span> she snarled mentally, and her dragon soul growled in agreement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was time for her to confront the Crystal Exarch, once and for all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally their talk with the Exarch was at an end, and the mage turned back to his crystal screen, to continue whatever mysterious business he did while alone in his tower while Tetri and the Scions were away. She watched Thancred and Minfilia file out, followed by the Leveilleurs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll meet you at the Amaro Launch, Tetri,” said Alisaie, seeing that Tetri had stayed behind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I’ll see you both soon,” she said, and Alisaie and Alphinaud gave her a wave before turning towards the doors.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri waited until the doors to the Ocular closed behind the twins, before turning back to the mage and clearing her throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Exarch," said Tetri, and the Crystal Exarch turned back towards her, giving a small wooden bow that was little more than a tilt to his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ah, yes, Tetri," he replied. "I thought you had left with the others."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri's ears twitched as she listened for any tells in his voice, but, like everything else he said, the man's voice, though rich and full, was even, with no hint of obfuscation or nervousness. Tetri wasn't one for spycraft, preferring to leave that particular art to the professionals like Thancred and Yugiri, but they had both shared enough with her over the years for her to at least know the basics of reading people. She knew that, at least with the Crystal Exarch, the basics wouldn't be enough. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri could almost smell the secrets on him, though perhaps that was the scent of his magic, rare and strange and powerful. Her dragon soul growled with suspicion in her mind, not knowing what to make of the man's scent either. Ever since becoming a dragoon and claiming her soulstone, Tetri had become better at detecting magical aether merely from smell alone, a trait shared from her dragon soul as well as the spirits of dragoons past. Yet, this man had stumped every part of her, apparently, like a magical aberration, invisible to every sense she possessed, aetherological, physical and otherwise. He was a puzzle, and she was determined to figure him out!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri grit her teeth as her mind raced, looking at him waiting patiently for her to continue. She kept her face calm, attempting to not reveal how deeply the Exarch unnerved her, though she knew she likely wasn't succeeding, as she felt the man's unseen eyes on her, burning her skin like a brand. The Warrior of Light was suddenly filled with the urge to slam the Exarch bodily onto the ground, and remove his cowl by force, to finally get a glimpse of his face, but she quickly pushed down that impulse. They needed the Exarch's trust if he was to return them all home, to undo the spell that had ripped the Scions' souls from their bodies back in the Source, and Tetri knew she would burn that bridge if she did such a thing, no matter how pleasing it would be to her in the short term. She fought the urge to mutter a vulgar oath, taking a deep breath and running a hand through her hair, instead, her ears twitching in frustration. She felt the Exarch's eyes follow the movement of her hand, but he said nothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri cleared her throat again.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I--I want to start over, with you, Exarch," she said, her tone firm and direct. "To start over with you and I."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watched the Crystal Exarch tilt his head slightly to the side at her words, like he was a bird. His cowl didn't even rustle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm not quite sure what you mean, Warrior of Light," the Exarch replied dryly. "I wasn't aware there was anything to restart between us."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> what I mean, Exarch!" replied Tetri in a snarl, her frustration finally bleeding through her words. "You know exactly what I mean! Stop playing these damned games with me!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She took a few measured, deliberate steps between them, until she was standing ilms away from him. The Exarch hadn't moved a muscle, regarding her silently, his body still as stone, his crystal hand wrapped tightly about his staff. Tetri blew out a breath, felt her tail thrash behind her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't trust you, Exarch," she said softly. "I don't trust you, but I want to. I want to trust you like the twins seem to, like the people of the Crystarium. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> to, but I don't. I can tell you're hiding things from me, things I likely need to know so we can save your world, and I can't save the world if I'm dead. I'm a warrior, and I prefer to face my challenges head-on, knowing everything I can about my enemy."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looked down at the ground then, ears bent back against her head, twisting her gloved hands together, feeling the sting of regret in her heart as she thought of the people she'd lost over the years, about how she had failed to protect them from their fate, or how they hadn't let her protect them. Tetri knew she couldn't save everyone, that she was still mortal and flawed even as a Warrior of Light, but that didn't make her personal failure hurt any less. She couldn't change the past, but perhaps she could rewrite the future. However, she needed to know everything she could, in order to do so. She looked back up at the Exarch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"If you don't tell me what you're keeping from me, I can't promise I'll be able to protect you from the sin eaters," she said. "You, or the rest of my friends, or anyone else. If I only have half the information I need, I'm leaping in blind, and that puts me at a disadvantage. Which means we all are, in turn. I know that you understand this, as well as I do."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I do," he finally replied, nodding at her. "Yet, at this point, I must tell you, Tetri, that I have told you the full extent of what I know of our collective plight in regards to the sin eaters and Lightwardens. What we accomplished together at Holminster Switch was just the beginning. There's nothing else for me to tell, regrettably, except that I appreciate all you have done thus far, and are continuing to do, for the peoples of the First. Although I am the cause of you and your friends being present in this world, in the greater scheme of things, this isn't really about me, but about saving this world."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded at her, again, and gracefully raised his other hand towards her, as if in offering. Tetri looked at it, admiring his smooth fingers, a common side effect of extended magical casting and the flow of aether through the fingertips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"To that extent," he continued, "please know that I remain fully committed to returning you and your friends to Eorzea, no matter the cost to myself. I am sorry to hear that you still do not trust me, Tetri, but I understand why you don't. Trust is earned, not freely given, and I can only imagine what sorts of betrayals you and the rest of the Scions have experienced, to make your trust such a difficult gift for others to earn. Yet, that is your right, and above all else, I understand. I will endeavor myself to be fully deserving of your trust, 'ere we are through with the work of defeating the sin eaters. Do you believe me?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At those last words, Tetri felt her heart skip a beat, as she was instantly reminded of the passionate dream she had experienced the night before, with G'raha Tia having whispered those same exact words to her as they had made love. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Wh-what--what did you just say?" she stammered, her mouth dry. Her hands were sweating inside her metal gauntlets. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Do you believe me in what I've told you?" continued the Exarch smoothly, either not noticing her reaction or not choosing to comment on it aloud. "That I remain committed to returning you all home, and to earn your trust as we move forward together as a team?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri swallowed, her throat suddenly tight with longing for G'raha Tia, the man who had loved her so tenderly in her dream, who had asked her to believe in the love he had for her, the love they apparently shared but had never spoken of to the other whilst awake. The man who had worshiped her body with his own, who had dragged his hands and lips over every ilm of her skin. The man who slept forever beneath another crystal tower, a world away from the First. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man she would never see again.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She raised a hand over her eyes, careful not to get the sharp metal too close to her face, blinking away the burn of tears, feeling irritated and ashamed at being so vulnerable in front of the Crystal Exarch. She didn't regret that dream in the slightest, in fact, she knew she would cherish it always, but at this point it just felt like a glaring weakness, to be brought to tears in front of this man she barely knew and didn't trust. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What would G’raha Tia have done?</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought, trying to draw strength from the memory of her beloved. She thought of the brightness of the red haired Miqo’te man’s smile, the sweetness of his kiss, the music of his laughter, the faith he had in her. Not just as the Warrior of Light, but who she was, as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri sighed, feeling a wellspring of inner strength rise up in her heart, as she recalled the dream of love she had shared with G’raha. He would have wanted her to trust the Exarch, to save the First, to be the hero she tried to be, the hero </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> knew she was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri sighed, taking her hand away from her face, and looked down at the marble floor of the Ocular, gathering her thoughts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I had a dear friend back in Eorzea, someone I...love,” she said. “Someone I love and </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> love, very much, so much that it took me by surprise when I admitted it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looked up from the floor, fixing the Crystal Exarch with her ruby gaze, gleaming with its intensity.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He asked me if I believed him,” she continued. “If I believed that he loved me, and that I loved him back. And I did. But it wasn't just about love. He believed in </span>
  <em>
    <span>me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> in who I was. He believed in </span>
  <em>
    <span>us,</span>
  </em>
  <span> that we were capable of accomplishing anything we set our minds to. And even though I lost him, even though I'll never see him again, I can still feel him, here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She tapped a gauntlet-clad hand over her heart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because he believed in me,” she said, “because I believed in him--and because I </span>
  <em>
    <span>still do,</span>
  </em>
  <span> I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> I can choose to change, Exarch. I can choose to change my own future, and maybe the future of worlds, as well. So...yes, I choose to believe you. Just know that for now, I’m doing so for him.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She saw the Exarch visibly relax beneath his robes, her words having somehow rid him of all his previous tension. She saw his smile widen beneath his hooded cowl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am grateful for your believing in me, then, Tetri,” he replied smoothly, “and doubly grateful for your beloved friend, whose wisdom and compassion moves you still, though you are separated by time and worlds apart. Such a friend--and such a love--is surely a great gift, indeed.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri found herself smiling back, a genuine smile that made her heart feel lighter in her chest. She walked closer to the Exarch, and reached for his hand, and the Crystal Exarch reached likewise for hers with his hand of crystal. Their hands clasped together, and they gripped each other firmly, each seemingly reluctant to let go. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I...I should go,” said Tetri quietly. “The twins are waiting for me. We’re leaving for Il Mheg soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then good luck and fair winds be with you, Ser Tetri,” said the Crystal Exarch, “and I will await your safe return.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri moved to pull her hand from his, but froze as she watched, as if in slow motion, as the Exarch, standing so still as to be nearly motionless, drew her hand up beneath his cowl, and pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of her gauntlet. It was so slight that it could have been a dream, a slight of her imagination, but Tetri had somehow felt the caress of his lips against her bare skin beneath her gauntlet! Before she could ask him about it, however, he released her hand, and she let it drop woodenly to her side, still shocked at the Exarch’s actions. She could see him smiling beneath his hood. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you have somewhere to be, Ser Tetri?” he asked with a hint of mirth, and Tetri swallowed a curse as she realized she was late to meet Alphinaud and Alisaie at the Amaro Launch. She whirled and raced off, her lance clattering against her armor behind her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bye, Exarch!” she shouted, and then she was hurtling through the great brass doors of the Ocular and out of sight. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>* * *</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Exarch smiled as he turned back towards his viewing screen in the Ocular, feeling giddy, his heart as light as a feather.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She loved him! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved him!</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His Warrior loved the man that he used to be, but he could feel from the remaining pull of her aether against his own that she also loved </span>
  <em>
    <span>him,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the man he </span>
  <em>
    <span>still was! </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She loved him, as the man he had</span>
  <em>
    <span> become!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And she </span>
  <em>
    <span>believed him!</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She </span>
  <em>
    <span>believed</span>
  </em>
  <span> him, that they would always be connected. She had told him so just now, as well as in his embrace, and he believed her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>his,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>hers!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Their hearts indelibly imprinted upon each other for all time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was love not the triumph of a life well lived, after all? No matter how long or short a time one had?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Damn the void of the Rift, damn his fear of the end! This wasn't about him, this was about the survival of their worlds, and all therein!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Exarch tightened his crystal hand about his staff as a flood of determination gripped him. He flexed his powers, summoning endless arcane energies with a mere thought, felt the ripples of magic fill every cell in his body, and felt every ilm of the Crystal Tower fill with those same energies in turn. The powers of ancient Allag were </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> to command, and with it, his will grew as strong as iron!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He would meet his spectre head on, just like his Warrior of Light and Darkness with her enemies!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He would take their love with him, and even as he disintegrated, it surely would not be the end,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>for their love would echo out into the cosmos, beyond time and space!  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Expanse would contract, eons would become instant, but this love he felt would never fade!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man formerly known as G'raha Tia grinned beneath his hooded cowl. He knew who he was now; love had shown him the truth about himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was the Crystal Exarch: leader of the Crystarium, creator of a new timeline for the First and the Source, beloved of the Warrior of Light...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>...and a hero all his own!</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading!</p><p> </p><p>If you're a FFXIV fanfic writer and/or reader, we invite you to join us in the Bookclub! https://discord.gg/TD8zYvx</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Urianger I: The Astrologian's Confession (Il Mheg, The Bookman's Shelves)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Warrior of Light finally reunites with Urianger. As it turns out, they have quite a lot to tell each other!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A/N: Hello, all! Happy Holidays, Happy Starlight, and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!</p><p>I'm very excited to share this chapter, which I've been working on for the past few months. Though I love all the Archons, Urianger is my favorite Scion, so I spent extra time on his chapter. However, at 72 pages, I decided to split it up into two chapters, since that's quite long even for this particular longfic.</p><p>I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>It was Urianger who finally broke her resolve. He had always enthralled her with his golden eyes, his curious, eloquent method of speaking, his love for books, poetry and the obscurity of everything involving the magical arts. He was everything Tetri wasn't: soft skin where she was coiled muscle ready to spring, silken robes where she wore iron armor, a healer graced by the stars, just as she was a warrior who rode the skies, who aimed her lance to kill. They were functional opposites, comrades who always supported each other, and trading one world for another wouldn't change that, couldn't ever change that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Miqo’te considered him, watching him prepare a pot of tea out of the corner of her eyes as she pretended to look through one of the many tomes laying about in the Bookman's Shelves. Their earlier trek through Il Mheg had tired everyone out, and Thancred, Minfilia, and the Leveilleur twins had all retired to bed some time ago. The house was comfortable, for all the fact that it existed in the realm of the faeries, and the smell of old books was reassuring, reminding Tetri of the Rising Stones in Mor Dhona, but on this night she only had eyes for Urianger, though she tried not to be so obvious in her scrutiny.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She examined his muscular biceps and triceps, bare from his sleeveless caster’s robe, and even adorned with gold jewelry and amulets, she could tell that he was full of wiry strength. With such graceful, sleek muscles, Tetri thought he would make an excellent archer. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Or a lancer,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought, her long ears twitching with amusement at the mental image of Urianger clad in dragonscale armor and a spear. A preposterous notion, but it brought a smile to her face as she examined the page of the book she was pretending to read for the third time. She knew he would hate the constraints of armor, the lack of magic in such a warrior’s art, the lack of refinement in burying the end of a lance into an enemy’s hide. She took a deep breath as Urianger poured boiling water into two teacups, inhaling the scent of mint, lavender, and cloves; a blend, then. Tetri turned her gaze to Urianger as he stood at the counter preparing their tea. She was glad her Elezen friend had found such teas in the world of the First, knowing his fondness for them back in the Rising Stones. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri found Urianger to have an ethereal beauty about him, with his high cheekbones, eyes the color of ripened wheat, and his elegantly trimmed beard, to say nothing of his admittedly brilliant mind, all facets she could not help but be drawn to. To think he had been hiding this countenance from her, beneath a cowl and goggles, squirreled away in his books, for years!  His unique allure was uncommon even to the other Elezens who had sought her heart, Haurchefaunt included. He was forthright where Ser Estinien was stubborn and withdrawn, serene where Lord Commander Aymeric held to barely repressed passion and anger, cautious where her dear Haurchefaunt had thrown himself into the fray. Urianger had all of these aspects, of course, just as she did, just as they all did, but that same insatiable curiosity, that thirst for knowledge that was all </span>
  <em>
    <span>his,</span>
  </em>
  <span> always shone through, and Tetri was fascinated by him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She startled as Urianger finally met her gaze with his own from across the room, raising an eyebrow at her. Tetri could feel her cheeks heat in a blush as his golden eyes fixed on her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s good to see you, Urianger,” she blurted out, wanting to fill the space between them. The Astrologian’s earlier explanation of his vision--of yet another impending Calamity, of her possible death--had frightened her, made her blood run cold, and she wanted to focus instead on the comfort of familiarity, the honest joy of seeing him again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger nodded at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“‘Tis good to see thee as well, dear Tetri,” he said, taking a saucer and teacup in both hands and bringing their tea to them, placing the teacups on a small table between them. He sat in the chair opposite her, crossing his long legs, looking more like a professor of his Studium than a combat mage. His gold jewelry clanged together against the rustling of his silk robe, a gentle, melodious sound. Tetri felt her heart ache with how beautiful he was. She wondered if his skin would feel as soft as his robe appeared to be. She grasped her hands together in her lap at the thought, the dragon soul in her hissing with awakening desire.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Down, girl,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Down. </span>
  </em>
  <span>In her mind, her dragon soul hissed at her in derision. Tetri resisted the urge to roll her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“These need to steep, still,” he said, gesturing to their tea, and Tetri nodded, watching the steam rise from their teacups. It was such an ordinary moment that it seemed jarring, considering the ordeal of their present circumstances. She felt Urianger’s eyes on her, but the Miqo’te didn’t look up from her teacup, trying to compose her thoughts into something she could say to him aloud.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I--” she started to speak, then trailed off, unsure of how to continue. She sighed, shaking her head. Her long tail twitched beside her, curling down from the seat cushion where she sat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not good at small talk,” she said more tersely than she would have liked, but it was too late now, so she continued, finally meeting his gaze. “So I’ll just say it. I thought I’d never see you again.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger took a deep breath, his golden eyes widening, and it was clear to Tetri that her Elezen friend hadn’t been expecting the conversation to go this way, but now that she had opened her mouth, she couldn’t stop. She felt tears burning at the corner of her eyes. All the emotions she’d repressed, all the fears she had pushed down inside of her mind, now came rolling out like a tide. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I watched you </span>
  <em>
    <span>fall,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Urianger!” she hissed in a whisper, leaning towards him, until she was mere ilms away from Urianger, whose face was similarly twisted, as if in grief. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You, and Y’shtola, Thancred, Alphinaud, Alisaie....” Tetri wiped tears from her cheeks in frustration, breathing harshly, and her tail thrashed at her side.  “All of you fell! I was alone, really, truly </span>
  <em>
    <span>alone,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and--and I--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sighed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was horrible,” she said finally, wiping the last of her tears, unable to describe her overwhelming grief beyond that simple word. In the Ghimlyt Dark she had battled Elidibus, cloaked in Zenos’s flesh, and had almost lost her life in that duel, burdened with the knowledge that her friends teetered on the edge of life and death. Trapped in the soulless slumber which, unbeknownst to her or any of the other Scions, had belied their journey to the world of the First via the Exarch’s magicks.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Staring at the house floorboards, she jolted in her seat as she saw Urianger lean forward, somehow making even that ordinary motion elegant, and take her hands in his.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My dear Tetri,” he said, gripping her hands tightly, “words cannot adequately describe how sorry I am, that we had to leave thee in such a manner, to fight thy battles alone. None of us wished for such, that is for certain. Would that I could have chosen another course, for all of us. Yet here we are, in the First, together at last.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stroked large fingers gently over her smaller palms, and the Miqo’te blushed at the contact, but said nothing, for now that her Elezen friend was touching her, she did not wish him to stop. Urianger sighed, looking at their entwined hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If we are being so bold with each other, it has not been easy for me to be away from thee, either, these past three years,” he said, looking back up at her, and Tetri could see his pupils dilate slightly, his cheeks coloring slightly in a light blush. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Urianger--” she began, but he squeezed her hands tighter, leaning forward over the table and moving even closer to her, and she could now feel the heat of his body emanating from beneath his silken robe, so close that she could reach out and touch him, if she wished. And oh, how she wished to! Yet his close proximity had her frozen in hesitation, her ears flattening against her head in anxiety. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, unable to look away as his golden eyes stared into her own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “After thy anticipated return from Doma, I had wanted--that is, I had wished to--to grow closer to thee,” said Urianger, and as he spoke his cheeks reddened. Tetri jolted at his admission, feeling her tail bristle in surprise. He just squeezed her hands, willing her to listen, and she nodded at him to continue. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Though we are steadfast comrades, our differing areas of expertise pulled us, by necessity, in different directions during the course of our work,” he said, “preventing us from even conversing in length for longer than a few bells, let alone spending more time together than our duties allowed us. I wanted to reach out to thee...to get to know thee, not as the Warrior of Light, but as my friend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri blinked at him, thrown off balance by Urianger’s admission.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just...as your friend?” she asked, the weighted question erupting out of her unbidden, though now she couldn’t take it back. Urianger clutched her hands tighter, his entire face flushing, and he looked away from her, clenching his jaw. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is it so surprising, that I was drawn to thy beauty, the power of thy presence, as others have been before me?” he asked, his voice low with a hint of longing, sending a throb of want through Tetri’s body. He looked back at her, and the Miqo’te nearly trembled at the searing desire in the Elezen’s golden gaze. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have considered what I would say to thee, Tetri, in the three years I have been in this world, once I saw thee again,” he said. “And now that thou art before me, hale and whole, I hesitate to speak the words in my heart, for fear that I shall push thee away again…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sighed again, a broken sound full of heartache that had been carried in secret for years. Tetri’s eyes narrowed in determination. For all that she, too, was nervous about baring her feelings for her friend, she couldn’t let him continue feeling as if he was alone in his regard for her. The tension between them was mutual, had been mutual for some time; to say anything different wouldn’t be honest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Urianger, I--it’s not just you,” she said, gripping his hands back. The Elezen watched her long purple ears twitch back and forth, a Miqo’te display of tension, but she didn’t look away from him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wanted to know you, too,” she said softly, and he took a breath, his hands shaking slightly in hers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I always hated how we couldn’t be closer,” she continued, feeling her hands also shaking with nerves, her body leaning towards Urianger, as if she could no longer bear to be even an ilm away from him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For a long time, for years, I’ve been--drawn to you,” she said, her buried feelings for him now freed by the weight of his own confession to her. “Your mind, your voice, the way you speak...It’s not just that though,” she continued, laughing nervously, hating how ineloquent she sounded, how she couldn’t adequately convey the contents of her heart to him. She wanted Urianger to understand that she was drawn to who he was, not just an aspect of his personality. Her place of expertise was on a battlefield, not navigating expanses of the heart, and Tetri reeled in the emotional chaos they were presently mired in. She had no idea what she was doing, or if she was doing it right, only that Urianger was safe and alive in front of her, holding her hands in his, and that was enough to risk it all.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not good at this, Urianger,” said Tetri, and she felt tears burning again at the corner of her eyes, but this time she was smiling. “I’m not good at any of this. All I know is, we’re here, together, and I’m glad, I’m so glad to be with you right now!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tetri…” Urianger whispered her name, staring at her, his eyes wide as if in awe. Then he let go of her hands, and Tetri felt bereft of his touch, but then his hands rose to her face, cupping her cheeks in both of his palms, and then he was standing up from his chair to kneel in front of her on the floor, bringing his face close to hers, until she could feel his breath on her lips. She shook at the contact, no longer able to hide her longing for the Elezen before her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d like to kiss thee, now, Tetri,” he rasped, his lips mere ilms from her own. “May I?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sweet Halone, yes,” she said, her voice no more than a whisper. “Gods, yes!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He closed the distance between them, finally, and brushed his lips against hers. Their first kiss was gentle, almost chaste, but the ensuing heat that rocked through both of them was anything but innocent. Tetri pressed her lips back against his, wanting more, needing more of him, and Urianger made a low noise, tightening his hold on her as the kiss became deeper. He brushed his tongue tentatively against her lips, and she opened her mouth, allowing him to taste her. She moaned softly into his mouth at the first slide of his tongue against her own, and Urianger slid a hand from her cheek to her hair, burying his hand in her short locks before gripping her hair firmly, pulling her head back slightly. Tetri moaned louder as he did so, the slight pain of the action sending a blaze of heated pleasure low through her abdomen and between her legs. Her mind whirled; how did he already know how to undo her so completely?! The dragon soul in her snarled in satisfaction, and then her mind was just a blank except the desire for </span>
  <em>
    <span>more:</span>
  </em>
  <span> more of Urianger, more of his lips, his body against hers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She got up from her chair, her lips still locked to his, clutching the front of his silk robe, and moved into him, the distracted Miqo’te and Elezen completely forgetting about the cups of scalding hot tea sitting on the table. Her rustling tail clattered into the nearest cup of tea, knocking its contents over onto her thigh, the cup and saucer crashing onto the floor. Tetri jolted away from Urianger, gasping in pain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nald’s godsdamned </span>
  <em>
    <span>balls!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she swore loudly, breathing harshly through the pain of the burn on her right thigh, and bit her hand to keep from yelling, remembering her sleeping friends in the rooms upstairs. Her mind filled with oaths unsaid, and she groaned in agony at the burning pain searing up her leg beneath her leggings. Of course, she had removed her armor kit a few bells ago, not being equipped when she needed it. She had suffered far worse injuries than a burn, but the pleasure of what she had just been doing with her friend moments prior somehow made it feel worse.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seven hells, Tetri, I’m sorry,” Urianger said, standing and running a hand through his hair, his face flushed, his lips wet and bruised from their kisses. He reached out and took her hand firmly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, then, let me take care of thee,” he said, pulling her along past the kitchen down a small hallway, and she hissed in pain as she followed along, limping slightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger led her into the bathroom, simply furnished with a fuzzy rug in front of the toilet and a bright green shower curtain over the tub, of all things, along with a standard square mirror hanging over the sink. Tetri, her mind mired in a foggy mix of both muted desire and pain, didn’t bother trying to puzzle why the faeries would construct a bathroom obviously meant for mortals. She supposed was grateful for it to be available at all, though, considering the ever present dangers of Il Mheg’s colorful wilderness outside, which didn’t make alternative methods of fulfilling such needs appealing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Leaving the Miqo’te dragoon where she stood before the doorway, Urianger finally let go of her hand and bent to one knee, opening the vanity cabinet beneath the sink and rummaging through it, before making a small cry of triumph. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah hah!” he said, grinning and turning to her, holding up a small box. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As magic can only do so much,” he said, “depending on the nature of thy injuries, I have mine own collection of sundry implements herein, to aid us in our quest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He opened the box, slowly, and Tetri was momentarily thrown off by the surreality of her Elezen friend on one knee, his golden gaze staring into her own, opening a box before her with all the intensity of someone ready to propose marriage to their beloved, and she bit her lip as she put weight on her injured thigh, her skin throbbing from where it had been burned by the scalding hot tea. From her vantage point, she could see the box held various bottles of ointments, cloth and other medical supplies. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She blinked at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Urianger--while I’m glad you’re prepared for anything, of course, can’t you just...</span>
  <em>
    <span>heal</span>
  </em>
  <span> it? With </span>
  <em>
    <span>magic?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she asked, not bothering to hide her confusion as she gestured at her burned leg.            </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger’s smile widened, and he chuckled, the rich sound of his laughter making Tetri long for him all over again despite her present state. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can indeed use healing magic on thee, dear Tetri,” he said. “However, allow me to further explain. Based on my general understanding of medical spagyrics, as explained to me long ago by the Sharlayan Studium’s own chirurgeons, it’s best to physically treat an injury if possible </span>
  <em>
    <span>before</span>
  </em>
  <span> applying healing magicks, as there can be lingering damage to the surrounding tissue even after the injury is already healed. Damaged tissue can retain negatively aspected aether even after healing performed by magic, so this is why physical healing is preferred as a first step. Normally, in the field we have far greater things to attend to, however, and such a philosophy proves impractical. Now, though, safe as we are, as thy attending healer I would do things properly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Elezen then stood again, towering over Tetri at his full height, and walked over to her, reaching over her shoulder to shut the door behind her so that they were now completely alone. Urianger placed the supply box on top of the sink and rummaged through it, pulling out a piece of gauze and two of the many bottles she had seen. He looked up at her, and Tetri jumped at the look Urianger gave her, his golden gaze pinning her where she stood. The Miqo’te felt her tail bristle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need to take a look at thy wound, Tetri,” he said, and his tone was gentle, but brooked no argument from her. “Please remove thy leggings.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she cried, feeling her entire face heat up in embarrassment, her ears twitching. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger turned to face her and crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at her. She felt like prey beneath his stare.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need to heal thee, Tetri,” he said, “and to do so, I need to examine the extent of thy injury. Come now, this modesty is unlike thee. Were we not ensconced in a kiss, together, not mere moments ago? If thou had not spilled thy tea all over thyself, thou might have removed thy leggings already with me, in a different context.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At those words, he smiled at her, a genuine smile at odds with the heat in his gaze at what he had suggested. Tetri looked away with a huff, her tail thrashing behind her, feelings her cheeks heat even further. She couldn’t even say he was wrong; as soon as she had kissed Urianger, she had wanted him immediately, caught up in the rapidly simmering passion between them, and she couldn’t deny it, to herself or to her fellow Scion. She had no doubt that, had she </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> burned herself with her damned tea, the Elezen would have had her breathless and naked on the floor as soon as they had safely been able to get somewhere alone. The Miqo’te didn’t have a problem with any of that, of course; though she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> somewhat bothered by the fact that Urianger, whom she hadn’t seen in months--and who hadn’t seen </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> for the three years he’d been trapped in the First--still seemingly knew her wants and needs better than she herself did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” she said, crossing her arms defensively. “Just...turn around?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger nodded, turning about so that his back was to her, going back to assembling his supplies on the counter of the sink. Tetri unbuckled her belt without further delay, wanting to just get whatever this was over with as soon as possible. She yanked down her leggings, grateful she had removed her boots earlier along with her armor, hissing as the cloth caught on the burned area of her thigh before she extricated herself from the garment entirely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She folded her leggings and placed them gently on the floor, feeling herself flush again at her lower half being bared to Urianger besides the altogether plain smallclothes she was clad in. Tetri knew she had nothing to prove to Urianger, but she still wanted to impress him as a potential lover, to make him feel as much yearning for her as she felt for him. Instead, she had injured herself, subsequently challenged him on everything he had to say, and he was merely trying to help her feel better. Tetri felt like a fool, suddenly feeling undeserving of her many titles with how flustered she was. She took a breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, Urianger,” she said, proud her voice didn’t shake even slightly.               </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Miqo’te couldn’t help but hold her breath as the Elezen turned back towards her with an unconscious flourish, his silk caster’s robe whirling about him like the most elegant evening gown she’d seen in Ishgard. Once more, the Warrior of Light was dumbstruck by the taller man’s ethereal beauty, watching his gold jewelry gleam even under the dim lighting of the small bathroom. In the back of her mind, she recalled Urianger and the rest of the Augurelt household hailing from Ishgard, originally, and having well acquainted herself with that kingdom’s peoples during the Dragonsong War, she knew they could appear graceful under nearly any circumstance. Now, though, with her dear Urianger mere ilms away from her, Tetri found herself speechless, forgetting her own shyness for a moment. She raised her eyes to his, grateful to see nothing but acceptance there. Urianger smiled at her, and she found herself smiling back despite her nervousness, her burned leg a mere twinge compared to the excitement of being so close to him while even partly unclothed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For his part, Urianger couldn’t look away from the Warrior of Light before him, even as he groped blindly for the two bottles and gauze on the sink he had taken out of his supply box moments ago. Grasping the items, he managed to swallow nervously, though his throat had long gone dry when he had turned about to see his friend sans her customary leggings that he always saw her wearing, clad only in her white smallclothes and her dark blouse. It was a testament to Urianger’s utter control over his own personal aether, which summarily required precise control over his physical body, that his whole face had not flushed with his wanting upon seeing her, up to the very tips of his ears. As it was, the Elezen was grateful that his robes probably managed to hide the fact that he was already half-hard beneath his own smalls, though he couldn’t be certain. The longer he gazed at Tetri’s face, her cheeks flushed red beneath her facial markings, her purple ears and tail twitching in a combination that was both simultaneously cute and alluring, the more he felt all his blood rushing southwards between his legs, his libido having been mostly ignored for his three years of exile in the First. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Shifting about in what he hoped was a discreet manner, the better to hide his steadily growing erection, Urianger cleared his throat noisily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, may I examine thy wound, now, Tetri?” he asked, and if his voice was a bit rough with desire, neither one of them mentioned it.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh--y-yes, yes, you may,” she replied, and Tetri fought the urge to mutter a vulgar oath as she felt herself tremble with the man’s proximity to her body. She was twenty-five summers old, older than some of her Nuhn’s harem wives had been back in her birth tribe when she had been a mere child, and yet Urianger was making her shake like a smitten maiden! The Miqo’te felt her tail thrash in frustrated desire as the Astrologian knelt before her, his face level with her smalls as he bent to look at the burned skin of her right thigh, the wound an angry red against her tan skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He raised his eyes to hers, silently asking for permission as he reached for her, and she nodded wordlessly. He nodded in acknowledgement, and looked back down at her thigh, brushing the burned skin lightly with his long fingertips, prodding her gently. She jolted at the touch, hissing at the pain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mine apologies,” he murmured softly. “‘Tis not as bad a burn as I initially surmised. It shall heal well.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He busied himself to uncapping one of the bottles, pouring out a bit of its contents onto the gauze, and lightly brushed the burn with the damp edges of the gauze. Tetri bit her lip as she felt it sting slightly as he moved it across her skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is that?” she asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Diluted alcohol, to cleanse and disinfect the wound,” replied Urianger, capping the first bottle and uncapping the second, pouring the contents on the other unused half of the gauze in his other hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Next, a tincture of aloe vera, to cool the surface of the burned area, as well as beneath,” he explained, and when he brushed her skin with this latest tincture, Tetri couldn’t avoid letting a small sigh escape her lips as she felt blessed coolness wash over her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m impressed, Urianger,” she said, smiling at him despite their awkward circumstances, with his face inches away from her clothed center. “You seem to have been researching medicine as deeply as the stars themselves.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger paused to grin up at her as he took his hand away from her thigh, before placing the bottles and gauze aside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Though my days at the Studium are long over, I shall always be a scholar at heart,” he said, “and few things please me more than practical research. Especially when I can use what I have learned to care for those I…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger trailed off, suddenly realizing what he had been about to say, and he stared at the floor, feeling his face heat in his own blush. He cleared his throat again, unable to meet Tetri’s gaze. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, now, Tetri,” he said, forcing himself to look up at her, momentarily stunned by the brightness of her ruby eyes, and he cleared his throat again. “I would heal thee now with my magic, as the final step in this process. I ask thy forgiveness for my insistence on performing the earlier steps instead of utilizing healing magicks directly, as thou had previously asked of me. Though my role as thy healer is new, my urge to master its many facets these past three years demanded I wield the perfectionist tendencies I developed at the Sharlayan Studium, so long ago in my youth. I appreciate thy patience and indulgence.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri laughed softly in response, the sound as clear and delicate as windchimes, moving through Urianger’s body with all the force of a gale wind, and he found himself yearning for the Miqo’te before him with every fibre of his being. He wanted to adorn her entire body with kisses, to pull more laughs and sighs of pleasure from her lips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The honor is mine to be tended by you, Urianger,” said Tetri. “With how often I get injured in a fight, I’ll be putting all of your skills to the test. Between you and Alphinaud, I feel utterly safe in your care.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger found himself whispering her name under his breath by way of reply, struck speechless by another pang of yearning searing his heart from within. He cleared his throat again, annoyed at his lack of control, and distracted himself by beginning to channel the flow of healing aether through his arms and down through his fingertips, the action at once calming and energizing as he felt the magic flowing through his body. It was unnecessary to utilize his astrolabe for such mild casting, though he allowed himself a flourish for his esteemed audience, his hands and fingertips outstretched as he allowed the golden gleaming energy to emanate a bit from his palms, enjoying the look of wonder on Tetri’s face as he did so.     </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing healers work,” she said, the awe evident in her tone as she watched her Elezen friend begin to glow with shimmering aether, looking more like a Fae-touched creature of legend than a Scion. “Nevermind the fact that I’m the one that needs the healing, most of the time!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger looked up at her again, giving her another one of his smiles, which shone nearly as bright as the golden aether gleaming about his body as he readied his healing spell with hands outstretched, and she was so struck with awe at the sight that Tetri had to remind herself to breathe.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then this is my vow to thee,” he murmured in reply, his soothing baritone washing over her in waves. “That as long as thou may require healing, I shall bring all that I have to bear and more, to see thee to victory. This I promise thee, Ser Tetri, my Warrior of Light!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri then found herself whispering </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> name, moved nearly to tears at her dear friend’s heartfelt words. Before she could say aught else, Urianger raised his hands, enchanted as they were with shimmering aether, and nodded at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Art thou ready?” he asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri nodded at him, still too overcome to speak, and Urianger gently placed his left hand directly over the burned area of her thigh, settling his right hand on her hip. Tetri startled at the feeling of his large palms on her bare skin, the earlier dull pain of her injury nearly forgotten, and had to bite back a moan as she immediately felt the rush of healing aether move through her body. It felt differently than Alisaie’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>Vercure</span>
  </em>
  <span> had been, warm and soothing where Alisaie’s healing aether had been cooling and energizing. Though, now that she considered it, Alisaie had applied that spell during quite different circumstances, and Tetri felt her cheeks heat even further as she recalled being under the Red Mage’s spell during their own fervent lovemaking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This, though, was different. This was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Urianger Augurelt,</span>
  </em>
  <span> her dear Urianger, his own aether flowing through her veins, golden and resplendent, washing over her skin! Tetri found herself breathing shallowly as a pang of yearning made her blood grow hot with desire, searing her from within like a dragon’s flame. She chanced a look down at Urianger, who was resolutely staring at her burned skin as it quickly healed, unblemished skin appearing in its wake, and the sting she had been feeling disappeared at once. The Miqo’te woman let out a sigh of relief. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s much better,” she whispered, and she surprised them both with how husky her voice was. Her tail thrashed behind her as Urianger finally looked up at her, and Tetri shook with the hooded desire in his golden eyes. She could still feel his aether flowing into her like an endless river, and wondered when it would cease, knowing that no matter how much she tried, she would miss the feel of it, along with his touch on her skin. In that moment, Tetri never wanted him to pull away, never wanted him to stop. She felt like she was tumbling into the warmth of his gaze, unable to look away from him, held in his sure grasp, and his hands tightened just a bit on her from where the Elezen knelt before her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps I should continue,” he said, his own voice as hoarse as hers, “the better to ensure any other injuries of thine are healed to the fullest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah--y-yes, I think--that would be best,” said Tetri, nodding eagerly, and Urianger sent more aether--</span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> aether!--rushing into her, a possessive ache suffusing him as he watched the Miqo’te woman become surrounded by golden light emanating from his palms. He tightened his hold on her, breathing faster as he watched Tetri close her eyes and tilt her head back, her face smoothing out in ecstasy as she gave herself over to his energy swirling within her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, U-Urianger…” she whispered, swaying on her feet, and Urianger held her firmly, thrilled by being able to touch her bare skin after years of wanting her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She is so responsive to my aether,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought with wonder and not a small amount of lust, allowing himself to attune more intently to her as his personal aether surrounded and enfolded her. His curiosity demanded he study his friend and possible lover with the intensity he reserved for all other pursuits. Urianger could feel all of Tetri’s hidden strength, her coiled muscles ready to leap into the sky at a moment’s notice, fierce power imbued in her blood and bones as her own draconic aether rushed hot through her veins, a gift of the dragon’s blood of her Dragoon soulstone. Deeper still, he could feel the flaming heart of her dragon soul embedded in her consciousness, slithering serpentine beneath her mind, but detectable as a subtle energy embedded in her aetheric field. Urianger thought it was possible that perhaps only he could feel it, so hard had he worked the past few years to allow himself a connection to subtle energies as he studied to become an Astrologian. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had already been intimately familiar with various aspected aether from being an Aetheriologist most of his life, used to sensing the feeling of various kinds of energy. Now, though, finding himself so close to the Warrior of Light, and fresh with the memory of having kissed her not too long ago, her taste as sweet as honey on his tongue, it was all Urianger could do to bite back a groan of pure desire. He leaned closer to her, breathing hard, closing his eyes as he found his face inches from her smalls, fighting the urge to peel them down her body with his teeth before tasting his fill of her between her legs. His own smalls had become uncomfortably tight as his cock was now rock hard and throbbing against his thigh beneath his robes. He was about to suggest that he stop casting his spell, becoming nearly overstimulated from his own spell coursing through his body to hers, when Tetri let out a gasp above him and closed her hands over both of his pointed ears, causing him to utter a strangled cry of surprise, his cock twitching beneath his smalls at the touch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh gods, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Urianger,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she groaned, lost with desire and overstimulated by her friend’s aether writhing through her, and she gasped, her eyes still closed, and thrust her hips against his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Tetri,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” said Urianger, and uttered a long, low moan, clenching his fingers into her hips as his nose was buried against her clothed center, the heady scent of her arousal making him shake. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gods, I--thy hands, on mine ears, it--</span>
  <em>
    <span>gods,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he stammered as Tetri stroked her fingers along the tips of his ears, and he panted, looking up to see the Miqo’te’s eyes clenched shut, lost in a haze of sensation. The pressure of her small hands on his ears, the heady scent of her so close to his mouth, filled him with wanting, and Urianger felt himself begin to rock his hips forward, groaning with his futile effort to relieve the ache of his own arousal. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Elezen knew his friend likely had no idea what she was doing to him; aether overstimulation was a known phenomenon to healers and chirurgeons, something to watch for during the healing process, and it affected different people in different ways. Sometimes, aether overstimulation created a trancelike state, and it seemed to Urianger that it was affecting Tetri in such a manner. In a combat environment, the likelihood of overstimulation from healing aether was low for patients, as the aether healed injuries taking place in real time, preventing the possibility of overstimulation when no wounds or injuries were present.  Even back in his Studium days, some of his lovers at the time who had studied the healing arts had put their knowledge of aether overstimulation to great use when they had shared his bed, and Urianger had found the experience thoroughly enjoyable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Sharlayan Studium was also the place where he had been treated to an extensive introduction to the lovers’ arts, as he had heard them called, and aether overstimulation was only the surface of such arts. As Urianger felt them both teetering on the edge of orgasm, the aether rushing through them both making them ache, the memories of those experiences rushed to the forefront of his mind, making the want he was feeling for Tetri even stronger. Urianger’s breath quickened, and he grit his teeth as he imagined introducing Tetri to his vast knowledge of eroticism. He was nearly certain the Miqo’te dragoon had never ventured into such things, based on the scant details she’d told him of her past, and he fought the urge to grin at the idea that </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> could, perhaps, be the one to lead her into the heights of new pleasures, if she agreed to share his bed! The thought made his length throb again beneath his robes, and Urianger groaned aloud, no longer bothering to hide his lust for the woman standing over him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tetri, I beg thee--please stop,” he said, abruptly cutting off his flow of aether, the glow surrounding them dissipating at once, and dug his fingers deeper into her thighs, just enough pressure to shock her out of her current overwhelmed state. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“W-w-what?” she said, finally opening her eyes and staring down at him in a daze, her ruby eyes glassy from her earlier trance. Urianger watched her eyes widen and ears stand completely upwards in shock, her face flushing completely red in abject embarrassment as she saw him staring up at her, panting, his entire face red, even beneath his Circle of Knowing tattoo and up to the tips of his ears, around which her hands had formed a firm grip. She gave a startled shriek, letting go of his ears, and would have leapt backwards from him, had Urianger not held her fast.     </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh gods</span>
  </em>
  <span>--Urianger, I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>so sorry</span>
  </em>
  <span>…!” she stammered, her hands shaking, her tail thrashing about in embarrassment, and she clenched them around her middle, looking at the floor, the ceiling, anywhere but the Elezen kneeling at her feet. “I--I had no idea I was--</span>
  <em>
    <span>touching</span>
  </em>
  <span> you, without your permission--the aether, I must have--I’m s-sorry!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“‘Tis fine,” he said, his voice also shaking a bit. “Thou hath had a reaction to mine aether when the healing took place. Aether overstimulation can cause some to enter a trance, and act in a way they may not consciously realize. It is alright--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not alright,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Urianger,” she said, and forced herself to look at him. Her ears were bent back in anxiety, and Urianger could see tears in her eyes, despite her humiliation at her lack of control. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> how sensitive Elezen ears are, they’re just like my kind’s ears. It’s unacceptable that I did that to you--” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I accept thine apology, dearest Tetri,” he replied, stroking her thighs gently with his fingers, unwilling to let her punish herself further for something that was not her fault. “Yet, thou art under the impression thy touch was completely unwanted, in which case thy behavior would be as reprehensible as thou art suggesting. Though I was surprised, I did not find thy present attentions on mine ears unwelcome. I will remind thee that we kissed each other, a mere quarter of a bell ago, and I recall that thy enthusiasm was near equal to mine own. Am I wrong in stating such?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” she whispered, and Tetri felt her face heat anew as Urianger turned his gaze on her, searing her with the memory of the heat of his lips upon hers, his hands in her hair, on her face. Urianger took a shaky breath, his golden eyes gleaming with sudden determination, as if he had made a decision. Tetri bit her lip to keep from moaning aloud as Urianger tightened his fingers once more on her hips, holding her still. She felt herself start to sway on her feet, held fast in his hold, as he pinned her with his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thou must be honest with me, now, Tetri," he said, his voice tight with longing. "Tell me true. Dost thou wish to be lovers with me?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes, I do," she whispered in reply, too overcome to say anything further. He drew another shaky breath, and the Miqo'te woman watched in fascination as Urianger's cheeks flushed red beneath his impeccably manicured beard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Then I tell you true, that I wish the same," he said, "though what I wish is not merely to be thy lover, as others have been."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Tell me what you want, then, Urianger," she said, not bothering to hide her eagerness. She reached out and stroked his cheek, and he let out a sigh, his eyes closing slightly as he leaned into her touch. "I would not have you go without what you wanted or needed from me," she continued. "If it's within my power to grant you, and if it's something I can accept giving, I would not leave you wanting."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger let out a breath, chuckling slightly and giving her a wry smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Very well, Ser Tetri, I shall tell thee," he said, and the Miqo'te and Elezen grinned at each other at his use of her title. He stroked his large hands gently down her thighs, and she trembled at his touch, how large his palms were, his long clever fingers searing her skin from where they stroked against her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I want to love thee, but I also want to </span>
  <em>
    <span>claim</span>
  </em>
  <span> thee," he said, his voice shaking with sudden excitement, and Tetri felt her eyes widen with the intensity of his words. "I want to bring thee to thy limit of pleasure, to watch thee go mad with thy wanting, as long as thou canst stand it, and make thee come when thou can stand it no longer. I want to feel thee come around me. I want to watch thee </span>
  <em>
    <span>break,</span>
  </em>
  <span> to </span>
  <em>
    <span>make</span>
  </em>
  <span> thee break."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Twelve</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Urianger," she whispered, the restrained passion in his words sending a bolt of pure desire crashing through her body to settle between her thighs. "I--I don't know much of what you're talking about, but--I'm not necessarily opposed to such. Tell me more?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger grinned up at her again, and his smile was wicked, promising her all sorts of carnal delights that she could not even fathom at that moment, save that he had ideas and plans aplenty in that brilliant mind of his. What those were, the Warrior of Light could only guess, though she looked forward to finding out!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Then I shall enlighten thee further, my Warrior of Light," he murmured in reply. "Hast thou ever heard of the 'lovers' arts?'"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ah--can't say that I have," she replied, her ears twitching.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"The lovers' arts is a broad array of concepts and practices, designed to increase pleasure during lovemaking," said Urianger. "The art of bondage and restraint, with rope, ribbon or steel. The art of pleasures to enhance or diminish sensation: hot wax, or ice, against the skin. With one sense heightened or diminished beyond normal limits, all others are also heightened, causing a marked increase in sexual pleasure alongside it."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri nodded, her ears swiveling towards the taller Elezen as she listened. He stroked her thighs gently with his long fingers, the touch calming her, making her mind float on an ocean of relaxation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Then there is one other art. My favorite, as it were," he continued, "the art of domination and submission. A kind of mental play between people, where the conscious mind sinks beneath the command of another, willfully. The submissive accepts the dominant's command, and the dominant fulfills their desires as the submissive faithfully follows their orders." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ah, I believe I have heard of such things in passing," said Tetri, nodding.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though she was no stranger to sex, the kinds of "lover's arts" Urianger was describing was something she had never had the time or inclination to pursue in the no-strings-attached tumbles she'd had before the Dragonsong War, and everything after it. Such things required an ample amount of trust and caring between people, something she hadn't really had before meeting the Scions, before finding themselves in the First. Now that she was creating this space of love between her and the others, however, Tetri found herself wanting to make up for lost time. Freed from her fear of love, after many years, the Miqo'te felt she was finally in a place where she could emotionally handle such carnal explorations.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Our pretty healer is already ours,</span>
  </em>
  <span> murmured her dragon soul, its normal aggression having been somewhat tamed by Urianger's calming touch against her skin, and it growled softly in her mind. W</span>
  <em>
    <span>e can be his, for a time. It is no weakness to submit in love to a mate's command.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And how would you know that?</span>
  </em>
  <span> said Tetri in a mental reply, amused that her dragon soul would have more knowledge of such things than she would!  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Thou art a fool, to thinketh thee the </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>only</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> dragoon to which we have been joined!</span>
  </em>
  <span> said her dragon soul in an amused sort of scorn. </span>
  <em>
    <span>We are part of the dragoons' legacy, bound to thy mortal kind, from the very first Ishgardian lance wielded by the power of the Eye! Their memories are ours, as are their desires! Though mortal flesh decays, the soul stays strong! </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>Ours</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> is the power of dragons, to infuse thy feeble mortal body with the strength of aeons!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, then I yield,</span>
  </em>
  <span> replied Tetri, bowing her head mentally, acknowledging her ignorance on such matters after all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though she was the mortal and her dragon soul was along for the ride, the dragoon knew deep down that there were things her dragon soul knew that were out of the scope of her own lifetime. Tetri thought it was possible, if she claimed another soulstone, someday, that her dragon soul’s hold over her consciousness could loosen, or even fade entirely, returning to the heart of the soulstone itself, or perhaps join to another dragoon back in the Source. For now, however, they were one, united in magical purpose, and their alliance required that Tetri be the one to yield sometimes.    </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Just so,</span>
  </em>
  <span> said her dragon soul, preening, coiling about her mind in satisfaction. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri was brought back to the present moment when Urianger cleared his throat, running his thumbs against her hips from where he knelt before her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wouldst thou be...open, to any of the things I mentioned?” he asked tentatively, raising an eyebrow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri took a shaky breath, nodding down at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I--yes, I would, Urianger,” she began, “though, I am not--not very well experienced with the sort of ‘arts’ you mentioned. You would need to guide me. I trust you, though, with my life, and so I will also trust you to lead us both. I know you wouldn’t let me down.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger swallowed at her words, a serious look on his face, his golden eyes gleaming with several emotions at once, but he nodded. He stroked her thighs lightly, his touch gentle, and the Miqo’te had to fight back another shudder beneath his hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Upon my heart, I swear to thee, dear Tetri,” he said solemnly, “I will not fail thee in this. We will do nothing thou art uncomfortable with. Which reminds me… Hast thou a--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My safeword is ‘Allaghan,’” she said, and gave him a wicked grin as she stared down at him with ruby eyes now hooded with lust, her ear and tail twitching. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger blinked up at her, taking his own shaky breath upon hearing her words, as a bolt of pure desire for her had set his entire body to overheating, and the Elezen felt that he might burst into flame right on the spot. He uttered a low groan, shifting in a desperate bid to relieve some pressure of his erection now throbbing against his thigh beneath his smalls. He shuddered as he felt Tetri lean down and stroke the tips of his ears lightly before cupping his cheeks, directing his face towards her, and Urianger stared, dumbfounded, into the eyes of his Warrior of Light. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know a lot, but I know that much of your arts, Urianger,” she said, laughing lightly, “and I would be delighted for you to teach me even more.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah. Twould be my honor, then, Ser Tetri,” he murmured, “for me to be thy teacher of such delights.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He leaned forward, pressing a light kiss right below her navel, his golden eyes never leaving her own, and Tetri didn’t bother holding back her ensuing gasp.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How wouldst thou like to begin?” he asked, his voice rough with want. She smiled at him again, stroking her thumb over his Archon tattoo.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I could stand to kiss you again,” she said. “This time hopefully with no further interruption.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He grinned and nodded, clambering to his feet and standing above her once more at his full height.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then allow me to grant thy wish, dear Tetri,” he whispered, arms encircling her as he pulled her close against his front, the silk fabric of his robe drifting pleasantly against her bare legs, and they both shuddered as she moved into him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri moaned as she felt her nipples harden at the stimulation, her shaking hands clutching at the folds of his robe against his chest, and then Urianger lifted her effortlessly in his arms, leaning down to take her lips in a fierce kiss. There was nothing gentle about this kiss, rough with their dual need too long denied, the Elezen and Miqo’te biting and nipping at each other’s lips before Urianger groaned, tightening his hold around her, one hand tangling in her hair, the other stroking over her thrashing tail before grasping her ass. Tetri opened her mouth, gasping against his lips, and Urianger licked into her, their tongues twining together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri tore her mouth away from his, arching against him with a sigh of his name, her eyes closed tight, her arms moving about his neck. Urianger dragged his lips down the curve of her neck, unwilling to stop kissing her for even a moment now that she was in his arms, feeling himself become lost in the sea of desire surrounding them both. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Urianger--</span>
  <em>
    <span>ah!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she cried out as Urianger nipped at the line of her collarbone just beneath her blouse, and she tightened her hands about him, her fingers drifting over his broad shoulders.     </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tetri!” he replied in a sigh. “How I’ve longed to hear thee call my name!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Miqo’te shook in his arms, overcome by Urianger’s passion, panting as the Elezen pressed a kiss directly above her breasts just above the buttons of her blouse. He nosed at the top button, his intent clear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I want to </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> thee,” he said, “I want to kiss every ilm of thee! Please, wilt thou let me?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri moaned at his sweat entreaty, running her hands through his grey hair, admiring its softness. The hand on her ass squeezed, causing her to thrust her hips awkwardly against him, and they both sighed as his hardness was trapped between them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” she said, feeling her heart race. “Yes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Urianger,</span>
  </em>
  <span> I need you! Let me feel you...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger placed her back on the floor then, and Tetri stood on wobbly legs, her knees weak from the force of their kisses, using her thrashing tail to steady herself on her feet. She watched as the mild-mannered Elezen before her plucked at the chains and hidden fasteners of his silken caster’s robe with delicate but practiced haste, his jewelry clanking gently in the air, and then he let the robe and its metal adornments pool at his feet, his body now bared to her view, broad-chested, all tantalizing muscles and ilms of bare skin she yearned to kiss and touch. Tetri felt her eyes widen as her gaze drifted to between his legs. Now covered only by his smallclothes, Urianger’s impressive erection left nothing to the imagination, straining against his smalls.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At his ensuing chuckle, Tetri blushed as she raised her eyes to his, realizing he had caught her staring at his length.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah--please forgive me for staring,” she said, her ears twitching as she answered his smirk with her own. “I had no idea you were hiding a caster’s rod beneath your robes. I thought you were an Astrologian, Urianger, not a Thaumaturge.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger uttered a laugh, crossing his arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The spell I would cast on thee is not a magic borne of aether, Tetri, but that of passion,” he replied smoothly, “and as thou hath gazed thy fill of me, I would have thee allow me to do likewise.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri nodded, swiftly divesting herself of her remaining clothing, and then she, too, was bare before her Scion, shivering beneath his gaze as he stared at her, feeling the weight of his golden eyes like a physical touch. She was so nervous that she fought the brief urge to cover herself with her hands and tail. Tetri had grown up in a close-knit Miqo’te tribe, and the unforgiving deserts of southern Thanalan had left no room for modesty; nudity had been accepted as a matter of course, and she had grown used to nakedness, both her own and others, from a young age. With such an upbringing, she was unused to feeling nervous in front of others, especially those she intended as lovers, but she supposed there was a first time for everything. Tetri thought it was a sign of just how deeply she cared for Urianger, how deeply she had buried her feelings for him over the years.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger took a step forward, his whole body shaking as he was overcome by the sight of his Warrior of Light before him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Tetri,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he said in a whisper, “thou art so beautiful! Please, do not be nervous, for </span>
  <em>
    <span>I love thee so!</span>
  </em>
  <span> I have yearned for thee, these three long years…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He gasped, suddenly fighting for breath, and Tetri watched as he blinked back tears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To see thee before me like this,” he rasped, “it is like the visions of prophecy I studied, though thou art more lovely a vision than any scholar could dare to comprehend! Please, </span>
  <em>
    <span>let me love thee</span>
  </em>
  <span>…!”    </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Urianger, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she whispered, “please love me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger uttered a strangled cry, and then he was rushing forward, placing his arms around Tetri and crushing her to him as his lips met hers in another frenzied kiss. He felt her tail thrashing wildly as he deepened the kiss, felt that soft fur drift over his thighs as he coaxed open her mouth and stole her breath. The Miqo’te groaned and wound her arms around his neck, grasping his shoulders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was quite light, her small body dwarfed by his larger frame while in his hold, and in between kisses Urianger considered that he always forgot how small Tetri really was. Shorter than most of her fellow Miqo'te men and women, her larger-than-life role as the Warrior of Light made such facts like her stature seem inconsequential to him. Now, however, Urianger was delighted that he was able to lift her entirely off the ground, holding her easily against him as he plundered her mouth with his tongue. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He smiled into the kiss, moving his hand from her rear back up to the base of her tail, where he stroked her soft fur lightly. Tetri's reaction was immediate, moaning at his touch as she arched her bare body into him, tightening her hold on his shoulders, and Urianger could feel her coiled dragoon's strength rippling through even that simple touch on him. It merely stirred Urianger further into his passionate daze, knowing that the Miqo'te could easily overpower him, that she was choosing to let him love her, instead. His mind felt heavy as if drunk on the strongest Ishgardian brandy; but it was their love, instead, that he was drunk with, and oh, what the sweetest madness love was!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally short of breath, the two parted to gasp for air, and he placed her back onto her feet with some reluctance, greedy to touch her even more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Lay down on the rug for me, if thou wilt," he murmured, and Tetri nodded, her ears and tail twitching, her face flushing as she did what he asked, kneeling and leaning back onto the green rug on the floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stared up at him, ruby eyes gleaming with echoing desire, and he gave her a wicked grin as he yanked his smalls down swiftly and threw them into a corner of the room, instantly forgotten as the cool air hit his length, now free and achingly hard against his stomach. Urianger stroked himself lightly, enjoying the Warrior of Light's lustful gaze, but he soon tired of his own hand. The Elezen knelt in front of her, placing his hands gently on her knees as he looked down at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Dost thou still want this, tonight?" he asked in a whisper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri smiled up at him, her ears twitching, and placed her hands over his where they rested on her knees.     </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I want this, Urianger,” she said, “I want </span>
  <em>
    <span>us. </span>
  </em>
  <span>You’re not the only one who’s yearned for years. I meant every word I said before, and I still do. Now, come here, my Astrologian.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She then parted her thighs without further hesitation, baring herself to him, and pulled him forward until he was kneeling in between her legs. Urianger stumbled a bit, placing his hands on either side of her face so as not to crush her beneath him. The Elezen peered down at her, feeling like he could fall forward into her eyes, and paused, suddenly feeling overcome. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For her part, Tetri felt similarly overwhelmed as she lay beneath the object of her years-long affections. She took the time to stroke Urianger’s chest, his sides, savoring her ability to finally, </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally</span>
  </em>
  <span> be able to touch the Elezen above her! He sighed and leaned into her touch, his eyes lidded with want as he looked down at her.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Urianger,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" she said in a sigh, trembling under the warmth of his amber gaze, unable to look away from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger was similarly spellbound, staring down at Tetri like she held all the secrets of the stars that had become the focus of his Astrologian studies in the First. Her cheeks were flushed, and purple and white ringlets of her hair drifted down her face, so that the Miqo'te looked like dawn's first light on the horizon. The Warrior of Light was no star in the heavens, but the gleam in her ruby eyes seared his heart, the aetheric heat of her hidden dragon's blood as bright as any starlit body, and the juxtaposition of the two was just as fascinating to his keen mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had known Tetri first as the Warrior of Light before she became his comrade-in-arms, and then Urianger had known her as a fellow Scion far longer than as his friend. He had subsequently regarded her as a friend for years after they had met, the bond between them settling to a comfortable, if distant, friendship, as they both engaged in their respective tasks of saving the Eorzean Alliance from Calamity after Calamity. Now that they were bare before each other, however, so close to consummating their mutual longing as they finally drew together as lovers, Urianger found himself as overcome with emotion as she was, feeling his heart ache as he peered into the Miqote's eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a time that he had genuinely believed he would never find love again, so broken had Moenbryda's death left him. He knew he had not been alone in his grief, that the loss of the proud Roegadyn warrior had wounded all of the Scions' hearts, but Moenbryda had shown Urianger a depth of love he had never previously known. She had accepted all his faults and adored every part of him, as a lover, a friend, a beloved, and in that spirit of trust they had pledged themselves to each other in secret. Urianger had been eager to reveal their desire to wed to the Scions when Moenbryda had finally shown up to visit at the Rising Stones, but then... Then it had all happened in a blur: Minfilia's abduction, the battle, the white auracite, Moenbryda's final stand to defend them all against the Ascian threat, the terrible blaze of aether that pierced her through--and then, she was gone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger had mourned, had wept and grieved in private, while striving alongside the Scions and the Warrior of Light to save Eorzea and Ishgard from the threats against them all. He thought he had done an admirable job, in retrospect; even as worn by grief as he had been, he considered himself and Tetri similar in their mutual proclivity for resoluteness against adversity.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had seen the light dim in her eyes after he had heard of Ser Haurchefaunt's death, had recognized the dimness of her aetheric field as the dragoon had fought her own grief, had watched her push through its weight even as she had forged ahead, slain Nidhogg and brought an end to the Dragonsong War. Losing a loved one was just one of the many things that they both had in common. Urianger thought that ultimately, however, Tetri had handled her grief better than he had with his own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Crimson Dragoon had used her sorrow as fuel to hone her fighting skills, ultimately to the benefit of Doma, Ala Mhigo, and the rest of the Eorzean Alliance. Urianger, on the other hand, had allowed his own self-hatred--a product of his failure to save Moenbryda all those years ago--to be his fall from grace. His brief, though ill-fated, alliance with the Warriors of Darkness was still his greatest personal shame; his previous betrayal of Eorzea and the Scions was a stain on his mind and heart that he expected to haunt him for the rest of his days.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To have been ultimately welcomed back by the Scions, even after all he had done, and to be embracing the Warrior of Light--these were all gifts Urianger didn't think he deserved, but he accepted them eagerly nonetheless. He had honed his healing skills during the past three years, and he was ready to finally prove his worth to his comrades, to turn the tide of this war of the First in their favor. He had chosen the wrong side before; he would not make the same mistake again.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite all they had been through, here they were, together, feeling love's inexorable force pull them into orbit about each other like two planetary bodies, unable to be away from each other a moment longer.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger took a shaky breath, startling a bit as Tetri raised a hand to his cheek, stroking his Circle of Knowing tattoo with her thumb.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey," she said softly. "Are you okay?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger laughed softly, turning his face to kiss her palm before leaning into the touch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I am well enough, my love," he said, noting her ensuing blush at his words. "I am feeling...somewhat overwhelmed, is all."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She smiled up at him, her purple ears twitching, and stroked his cheek again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Then that makes two of us," she replied. "Look, Urianger...we don't have to keep going, if you don't want to. We can stop, we can wait until later, whatever you feel comfortable with. Just tell me how you feel, right now."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sighed, looking down at her with a mixture of longing and sorrow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I appreciate thee saying such, dear Tetri," he murmured, "and my answer is that I do not wish to stop. Not if thou doth not wish it, currently. Of course, if either of us were to change our minds, I do not mind in the least, and I expect thee to tell me at once if this is the case. I shall endeavor to do the same. With all that being said..." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He reached a trembling hand down, mirroring her touch on him by cupping her cheek, tenderly stroking the facial markings there, and Tetri breathed out harshly at the feeling, whispering his name under her breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I want thee, and I need thee," he said, his eyebrows drawn together, as if in pain, and his amber eyes were glassy with unshed tears. "I have dreamt of thee, Tetri, I have longed for thee for three years! It felt at times like an eternity of craving. Perhaps, if I were a different man, I would have been content to just be at thy side, for the duration of this war, but--as thou and I both know, I am far from a paragon of perfection. I know now, having kissed thee, touched thee--I would never have been able to resist my wanting for thee."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri swallowed and nodded, her mouth dry, moved by the depth of the Elezen's need for her. She watched as Urianger leaned down further, so that their lips were mere ilms apart. She fought the urge to claim his lips with hers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Knowing all of this, all of me--wouldst thou still have me as thy lover?" he asked, his voice a mere whisper, sliding over her lips like the most intimate caress.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes, Urianger, I would," she whispered back in reply. Urianger shook above her, uttering a low groan of need, and then he closed the distance between them, claiming her lips in a rough, heated kiss.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Tetri returned the kiss without hesitation, licking at his lips, and Urianger opened his mouth to her, groaning, their tongues dueling together, their kiss deepening as she ran her hands over his bare chest. He leaned down further, intending to press them together, not stopping the kiss, but when he felt Tetri push at his chest insistently he reluctantly tore his mouth from hers, leaving them both panting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Art thou alright?" he asked, peering down at her. He watched as Tetri's face flushed, her ears flattening against her hair in anxiety.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well, yes, I am," she said, laughing nervously. "I'm fine with us--I mean, with this, what we're doing now. I just--"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She huffed, looking away in hesitation, before looking back up at him, noting his look of concern.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Please, Tetri, tell me what is on thy mind," he asked. "Art thou having second thoughts--"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No! No, not at all, Urianger," she said, waving her hands at him. "I still want this, I want </span>
  <em>
    <span>us. Together.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I just...have to tell you something, before we go further."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri sighed, swallowing, feeling like her mouth was filled with cotton as Urianger waited patiently above her. She licked her lips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Urianger, I--I'm seeing the twins," she said, stammering but saying the words in a rush, before she could lose her nerve. "Alphinaud and Alisaie. We--we're involved together, romantically. Not them </span>
  <em>
    <span>together,</span>
  </em>
  <span> with me, of course! I meant that Alphinaud and I, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> Alisaie and I, we're--I love them, and they love me back. We all talked about it, after--after I--connected with both of them separately. As their lover, I mean--gods, that sounds so </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid!</span>
  </em>
  <span>" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri sighed in frustration, shaking her head at her own ineptitude, took a breath, then spoke again, looking into his eyes with a glint of determination in her gaze. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I--I </span>
  <em>
    <span>love</span>
  </em>
  <span> them, Urianger," she said, sounding utterly serious. "I love them </span>
  <em>
    <span>both,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and--I know it's not considered proper, or--or normal, even, for me to be in an open relationship with them. But, you have to know--I would never do anything to hurt them, or to break their hearts. I would rather die."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She closed her eyes, then, unable to look at him just then, feeling anxiety rise in her heart. She felt tears burn beneath her eyelids, and when she took a breath, she felt herself shaking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I--I didn't tell you, before, Urianger," she said, "because I thought you might--might not want me anymore. That you might see this all as a...a dealbreaker, for you. And--if it is, I completely understand. I promise you, I--" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger smiled down at her, placing a finger on her lips to interrupt her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I apologize for interrupting thee, dear Tetri," he said, "but thou should be aware: I already know."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri opened her eyes, blinking up at him as he took his hand away. She wiped a few stray tears from her cheeks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You...you already knew about us?" she asked softly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I observed thy interactions together, the twins and thee," he said. "When thou exchanged touches and lingering glances during the course of thy journey, and deduced that there was a more than platonic connection between all of thee. Thou hath merely confirmed my initial suspicions."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He raised an eyebrow at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I am many things, beloved," he continued, "but, as I am thirty-one summers old, I am older than thee, Master Alphinaud and Mistress Alisaie, and I have both seen and done much in my life thus far. Such open bonds of love, though rare, do occur amongst close allies, at least in the Source. Now that we are in the First together, I do not see why this should be any rarer a phenomenon."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stroked her shoulder in an attempt to reassure the Miqo'te, and was pleased when he felt Tetri relax a fraction into his touch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ah, alright..." she said, "so--then my relationship with them both isn't a dealbreaker for you after all, I take it?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri looked up at him, her eyes hooded with worry, but her tone was hopeful. Urianger stroked her shoulder again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Nay, it is most certainly not," he said, "and I hope I have reassured thee by my answer. My feelings for thee have not changed a whit, by thou telling me honestly of thy existing bond. It would be my honor to be part of such a love."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger closed his eyes and chuckled slightly, before opening his eyes again, leaning closer to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It is entirely possible, Tetri," he murmured, grinning and stroking his hand down her shoulder and across her breasts, drawing a shudder from her, "that thou wilt learn something from me, or perhaps many things, as it were, about how to love. In my Studium days, it was not merely the lovers' arts I was introduced to. My dearest Moenbryda and I had an open relationship of our own, in those days. We had several partners each, who would share our bed with us. So, thou wilt forgive this mid-aged Astrologian his entire lack of surprise that thou, the Warrior of Light, would indeed find love with thy closest comrades and friends." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss against her lips, before pulling away once more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"And I would, with joy, count myself amongst their number," he whispered. "I love thee. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> love thee! Does that settle thy heart, beloved?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Urianger,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" said Tetri, uttering a low sob, a wave of relief and adoration suffusing her at the Elezen's words, and she leaned up and kissed him desperately, her body shaking as she pressed her front to his.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger groaned into the kiss, his arms encircling her and pulling her to him, desire burning him up inside, feeling dizzy with the warmth of her bare skin against him. Tetri ran her hands along his sides, clutching at his hips, and panted against his mouth as he growled at the touch and rocked his hips into her, pressing his hard length against her front, trapping himself between them as they rocked together, seeking more friction. He tore his mouth from hers when she reached down between them to gently stroke him, arching his back and moaning as he rocked himself into her palm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gods--I </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> thee,” he said, his eyes lidded with want, unable to keep from thrusting into Tetri’s grip as she stroked him expertly from base to tip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then have me, Urianger,” she replied, smiling up at him, enjoying the look on his flushed face as she twisted her hand slightly, causing him to swear under his breath before he reached down and yanked her hand away from his cock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know how much thou enjoys wielding a lance, beloved,” he said, grinning down at her, “but if I allow thee to continue wielding </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> lance, our night would be over ‘ere it’s begun, and I wish to make love to thee. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Thoroughly.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Miqo’te woman was unable to stop her shiver of anticipation at Urianger’s words, the rumble of his voice sending a rush of wetness between her thighs, her nipples hardening. She felt her cheeks burn at the feeling, of feeling so wanton and exposed to the Elezen’s gaze, even as she wanted to give herself over to him completely. She usually didn’t feel such overwhelming lust except during her heats, which thankfully hadn’t been happening thanks to monthly heat blocking potions. Still, Tetri allowed her body to relax beneath Urianger, feeling just as much need for the man above her, and that was enough to override her nervousness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She recovered herself, enough to smile gently up at him as she leaned back against the rug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, is it a lance now, instead of a rod?” she said, teasing him. “Call it what you wish, Urianger, but if I cannot wield you with my hands, I would rather love you with my body instead.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She rocked her hips against his impatiently, and they shuddered against each other as his cock drifted against the wet lips of her sex, teasing them both with pleasure. Urianger groaned, then smirked down at her, his golden eyes whirling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thou thinketh to goad me on, Warrior of Light?” he murmured, leaning down until his lips were slanted against hers. “Thou art underestimating my level of patience, Tetri. I have waited </span>
  <em>
    <span>years</span>
  </em>
  <span> to make love to thee. I can wait a few moments more. I did tell thee that I wish to kiss every ilm of thee…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before she could reply, he claimed her lips in another rough kiss, before dragging his lips down her neck and across her breasts. Tetri gasped his name and arched into him as he suckled her, gripping his hair roughly as he teased her nipples with his teeth and tongue, dragging her hands down his scalp before grabbing at his shoulders. Urianger moaned against her skin as she ran her fingers up his sensitive pointed ears, thrusting his hips artlessly against her legs as she overstimulated him. He reluctantly took his lips from her breasts to kiss her sternum as he drifted lower, intending to taste her between her legs, but Tetri sensed his intent and snarled above him, emitting a draconian growl, and effortlessly yanked him upwards, kissing him fiercely before parting for breath, leaving them both gasping.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can do that later,” she said, her slitted pupils fully dilated, and Urianger felt the heat of dragonfire just below his lover’s skin, echoing her impatience. “I need you </span>
  <em>
    <span>now,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Urianger. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please,</span>
  </em>
  <span> love me! I don’t want to wait any longer!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger nodded, unable to deny his Warrior of Light and Darkness what they both wanted. He reached down between them, stroking his fingertips against her damp folds, and groaned as he felt how slick she was for him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m ready,” she said, sighing and arching into his hand. “Come on, Urianger…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger swallowed and nodded, lining them up with his hand, and then he rocked his hips gently forward, gasping as the head of his length entered her wet heat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, Tetri,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he said in a sigh above her, his chest heaving as Urianger fought to control his urge to thrust harder inside her, to bury himself in her completely. It had been too long since he’d had a lover, and his self-control hung by a thread.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Urianger! More, give me more of you,” she murmured, sighing and arching her hips against his, taking him deeper inside her, savoring his desperate moan of her name as she did so. He was large, but not uncomfortably so with how wet she was, and Tetri sighed again as she felt that pleasurable stretch of his length entering her again and again.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t need to hold back, dear heart,” she said, panting as Urianger began to rock back and forth into her, claiming her body with his as they began to move in that most ancient of dances. Finally, he was buried inside her to the hilt, and the lovers paused for breath, sighing each others’ names as they got used to the feeling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri opened her eyes, not sure when she had closed them, clutching Urianger as hard as she could, her arms and legs wrapped around his back, her tail drifting across his hips. She looked up and saw Urianger staring down at her with naked adoration, and she blushed beneath his golden gaze. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thou must know, by now, how much I love thee, Tetri,” he said in a whisper, stroking her cheek with one hand, and she nodded, her mouth dry at the intensity of his words. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know,” she whispered back, unable to hold back a shudder against him, and Urianger wrapped his arms around her, burying his nose against her neck, her scent grounding him. The Elezen pressed a kiss against her neck before nipping at the tip of one of her furred ears, and they both groaned as she tightened around his length at the sensation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then wilt thou forgive me, if I desire to go faster?” he murmured, and she nodded, rocking her hips up into him as if to prove she could handle him despite the size difference between their bodies. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re fine, Urianger...I’ve been with other Elezens before,” she replied. “You’re not going to hurt me. In fact, you’re just about driving me mad, dear heart! Please, go harder, faster, I want it with you! I’ll say my safeword, if I need you to stop.”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, beloved,” he said, nodding, and he kissed her gently before leaning up on his knees, keeping their lower bodies joined. Tetri peered up at him quizzically. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing…?” she asked, her words trailing off as Urianger grasped her legs and straightened them against his body, pinning her lower half against him even as the change in angle buried his cock fully inside her. Tetri’s mouth dropped open as he filled her, the heated stretch of his length causing her to cry out as he thrust gently forward. She grasped fistfuls of the rug beneath her, panting as his cock brushed against her g-spot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck!” she cried, arching her back, her tail thrashing as it drifted against Urianger’s shoulder. She stared as Urianger grinned wickedly at her, stroking her legs on either side of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Precisely, beloved,” he replied, “that is indeed my intent. Art thou ready?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She huffed in laughter, even as he caused her to cry out again at a gentle downwards thrust of his hips, sending pleasure spiraling up her spine and through every nerve in her body. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>been</span>
  </em>
  <span> ready,” she said, grinning upwards at him in challenge. “Fuck me, Urianger!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he snarled, grasping her hips firmly, and drew nearly all the way out of her before slamming back in, their bodies slapping wetly together. Tetri uttered a ragged moan of his name, and Urianger’s vision went red, his long-denied lust shattering what had been left of his control. He gasped and repeated his actions, thrusting into her, hard, lost in the rapture of her heat around him, her moans and cries of his name a sweet symphony.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger smirked down at his Miqo'te lover, grasping her legs firmly against his torso as he repeatedly slammed his entire length into her slick folds to the hilt, savoring her cries as he did so, his golden eyes gleaming with possessive satisfaction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah!</span>
  </em>
  <span>--Thou taketh me so well, Tetri," he said with a groan, "to take all of me inside thee!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They both moaned in tandem as she tightened around him in response to his praise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ah, oh fuck, Urianger, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span> you feel so good!" she replied, feeling her face burn with embarrassed desire at his surprisingly effective dirty talk, tail thrashing beside her, her mouth wide, gasping as he did not cease his fast pace between her thighs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger moaned again, his eyes glazing over, her incoherent response only seeming to goad him onward, and he turned his face to press a kiss to each of her legs before staring down at her once more, his face twisting in passion. Tetri could see the Elezen's whole face was flushed, up to the tips of his pointed ears; the sight only made her breath quicken even more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Dost thou like it, like this?" he said, his voice several octaves deeper with lust. "Spread out beneath me, taking every ilm of my cock?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Y-y-yes," said the Miqo'te in a whispered reply, utterly humiliated at his crass narration of what they were doing, but his voice also thrilled her, washing over her skin like velvet. Tetri felt herself soon on the edge of her pleasure, despite them having barely begun. She gasped again, taking great full breaths of air, watching her legs tremble against Urianger's chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"U-Urianger, </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh gods...</span>
  </em>
  <span>" she said, her words choked off as she felt her body tightening around her lover, pleasure coiling up her spine.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" he said, his eyes widening, and he bared his teeth at her, grimacing as he fought to hold back his own release as her cunt throttled his length. "I want to see it, Tetri, I want to see thee come beneath me!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger rocked into her even harder, somehow, grunting with effort, the small room filling with the wet sound of skin on skin as he plowed his Miqo'te lover with everything he had, fucking her like the fate of both their worlds depended on it. Tetri was unable to hold back a squeal of delight, arching her back against the floor, her hands clenched into fists. She bit her lip to keep from screaming, tasting blood on her tongue as the Elezen drove her to new heights of ecstasy. Urianger saw the Warrior of Light's futile efforts to hold back, and glared down at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Nay, I will not have thee hiding from me," he said with a snarl, reaching down between them with one hand and easily finding her clit, caressing her with his large fingers. "Every one of thy screams, I want to hear it all!"   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His ministrations drew desperate gasps and cries of pleasure from Tetri, who writhed under him, feeling her peak begin to rush through her body from where they were joined.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, Urianger...</span>
  <em>
    <span>Urianger!</span>
  </em>
  <span>" she choked back his name with another gasp, her mouth agape, and then the Warrior of Light arched nearly her entire body into the air, uttering a high-pitched wail as she finally reached her peak beneath him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger moaned with delight as he watched Tetri shake and cry out beneath him, proud he had reduced the fierce dragoon to a shuddering mess. He slowed the movement of his hips into hers, letting the Miqo'te ride out the rest of  her orgasm, and finally pulled out of her with a gasp as she gave one more shuddering sigh and lay still on the floor, panting.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Urianger leaned up on his knees above Tetri, still breathing hard from their shared exertions, taking a moment to calm himself. He had felt himself close to his own peak, and had stopped, not wanting their first time together to end so quickly. The Elezen knew he could cast his own healing magics on himself to swiftly bring himself back to full arousal, but it was more than that. Urianger had waited three years to see Tetri again, even longer to be able to be honest with her and himself about his feelings for her. He didn’t want to rush a single moment with his Warrior, even if it meant holding himself back from his release. The wait would surely be worth it, he reminded himself, even as the sight of Tetri beneath him made his neglected cock throb against his stomach. He stroked himself lightly, shuddering as he felt his length still wet with her spend, staring down at the Miqo’te woman beneath him, who stirred and looked up at him in a contented post-coital daze. She smiled and stretched under him, her cheeks flushed, ears twitching. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” she whispered. “You alright? I may have been a bit...</span>
  <em>
    <span>distracted,</span>
  </em>
  <span> earlier, but I did notice you stopped all of a sudden.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger laughed nervously, feeling his cheeks heat in a blush. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I apologize if I worried or confused thee, dearest Tetri,” he replied, stroking her knee with one hand in what he hoped was a comforting manner. “I merely wished to prolong our time together. It has been a long time for me, and I--well. I did not wish to reach my peak so suddenly, and I was fairly close to doing so just now.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Oh…” Tetri blushed in embarrassment, but she smiled at his words. She reached up and placed her hand over his from where it rested on her knee. “Sorry for assuming...Urianger, it--it’s fine, it would have been fine if you did. Or, if you don’t, that’s fine too. I want you to enjoy this too, Urianger, I don’t want you to feel any sort of pressure to be a certain way, or feel a certain way. I just want to be with you, just like this.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As do I, beloved,” he murmured, and bent to press a kiss to her palm. He gently nudged Tetri’s knees apart, his ardor for her still strong as ever, and he shuffled forward to settle between her legs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would like to continue, if that is alright with thee?” he asked, and couldn’t hold himself back from stroking his length, groaning low in his throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri grinned up at him, ruby eyes gleaming, and reached up to pull him down by the shoulders, kissing him gently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Urianger,” she murmured against his lips, unable to keep from kissing him, unable to resist the noises he was making, his groans and sighs stirring her desire once more. “I want you again…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger groaned loudly at her words, and reached down to grasp her, rolling them suddenly, and then Tetri blinked as she found herself straddling him, her thighs on either side of his hips. Urianger smirked from beneath her, stroking her hips and thighs with his clever fingers. He thrust upwards against her soaked cleft, his length sliding against her, causing the Miqo’te woman to gasp.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Gods, Urianger,” she said with a groan, running her hands against his muscular chest to steady herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I want thee to ride me, Tetri,” he said, his voice thick with lust. “Ride me, like thou rideth the skies on thy leaps of dragonfire!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He thrust his hips up against her, sliding through her damp folds, almost slipping inside her, and Tetri uttered a growl as she dug her nails lightly into his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gods, you’re incredible,” she murmured, and Urianger watched as tendrils of blue flame crawled across her skin before dissipating. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You almost made me lose control with that,” she said, smiling down at him. “My dragon soul kinda likes that sort of thing. They can...be somewhat rough, however, so I try to tone it down…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her ears flattened against her hair, as if she was embarrassed, and Urianger touched her cheek tenderly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thy magic is not strange to me, beloved,” he murmured, “nor is it terrifying. Thy dragon soul is a part of thee, as much as my attunement to the stars is a part of mine own self. We all have our own gifts, and we all struggle for control at times, but that does not make us wrong. As strange as thou mayest consider it, still, I love thee, and that will not change.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I...Thank you, Urianger,” she replied, giving him a gentle smile, reaching down to touch his cheek. “I’m glad to hear it, and--and I feel the same way, about you. I’ll try to remember that, in the future.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do try, beloved,” he replied good naturedly, “and if thy memory escapes thee, I will be happy to remind thee.”   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger allowed himself to relax beneath her, holding Tetri up over his body as she straddled him, gazing down at him, ears twitching, her tail trailing invisible lines over his thighs. The Elezen looked at her as she sat atop him, his Warrior of Light, her face flushed from their earlier lovemaking, admiring her tan skin, crisscrossed as it was with numerous scars sustained in the course of many battles. Urianger wasn't sure whether he first wanted to kiss each one of Tetri's scars, or compose a ballad telling the tale of how each was gained. He couldn’t resist the urge to trace the scars across her shoulders and along her breasts with a fingertip, relishing her ensuing shiver. Tetri’s breath quickened at her Scion’s touch, her nipples pebbling as desire rocked through her anew, but she held back, wanting to see what he would do next.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His newfound ability to be open with the Miqo'te woman about his feelings for her made the bookish Elezen feel half mad with love, and he found his normal level of eloquence to be failing him at the moment. Instead, he contented himself to gaze into the glow of her ruby eyes, her slitted pupils fascinating him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Do not look away from me," he murmured, and Tetri obeyed her friend's whispered plea, transfixed by his golden gaze on hers. She felt herself blush at the intensity of his scrutiny; they had just made love, true, but she still wasn't used to such deep levels of emotional intimacy. She was still worried she would say something wrong and push Urianger away. Already, Tetri had nearly confessed her love for him while deep in the throes of passion, his heartfelt words drawing out her own, and she had just managed to choke them back as she had reached her peak. It wasn't that she was superstitious, per se; after all, she had loved Ser Estinien and Lord Aymeric, had essentially told them such, in so many words, and she had been able to save both of them, despite losing Haurchefaunt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yet, these were the Scions, </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> Scions, and Tetri couldn't help but feel differently about them. She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> attached to them, not less. The mere idea of losing them made her dragon soul snarl in abject fury. Somewhere along the way, in the course of their adventures saving the world, the Scions had become Tetri's surrogate tribe, the kind of adored friends she had always wished for and had never found in a Miqo'te tribe. To the Warrior of Light, they were even better: loyal, steadfast, courageous, and not afraid to love. To Tetri, they were perfect in their imperfections; she didn't need to put any of them on a pedestal, when she could keep them in her heart instead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The thoughts stirred a sudden possessive feeling in Tetri, and she bit back a growl as she gazed down at her handsome Elezen lover with newfound hunger, wanting to claim him all over again, just as he had claimed her earlier. She wanted to see Urianger unhinged by passion, wrecked beneath her body, beneath her hands and lips, inside her. Her blood heating with rekindled ardor, the Miqo’te purred low in her throat as she stroked her fingers up and down Urianger’s chest, feeling satisfaction as he groaned her name, his fingers tightening on her hips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri closed her eyes, rocking her hips against his, breathing harder as his cock drifted against her dripping core. She felt her dragon soul rise again to the surface of her mind, drawn to waking by the strength of her wanting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Thou hath already had our pretty healer,</span>
  </em>
  <span> said her dragon soul in a whisper across the surface of her mind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>May we--could we touch him, with thy hands?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You mean with </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>my</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> body,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she replied somewhat tersely, but she saw the aetherial dragon nod its head in her mind’s eye. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You ask much of me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And thou useth much of us, </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>all</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> of us, in fact, Warrior of Light! </span>
  </em>
  <span>they replied in a snarl, snorting invisible steam in their anger. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Grant us this boon, just the once, if he allows! We have no desire to overtake thy feeble mortal body. Why would we? Even relegated to thy soul crystals and the aetherial sea of the Lifestream, immortality is still leagues superior to thy inferior cages of mortal flesh. It holds no power over us.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Yet, you would use my so-called inferior body to make love to him,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she said, somewhat amused at their reasoning. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How can mortal flesh be inferior, if you want to enjoy its delights so badly?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We could say the same of </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>thy</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> enjoyment of our magical powers,</span>
  </em>
  <span> they replied with an air of smugness, and Tetri had to bite back a growl of her own. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where would thou stand without </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>us?</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> Hmm? Without our dragonfire, without our power to leap the skies? To rend flesh, and metal, and aetheric shade, with naught but the lance and a dragon’s righteous fury? Tell us. We can wait.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she snarled at them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Enough of this. You’ve made your point. But draw even </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>one</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> drop of blood from him, and I’ll crush your soulstone in my hand. I can surely find another soulstone back in the Source, if need be. And you </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>will</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> give me back the reigns when I say.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri saw the reptilian head of her dragon soul nod at her, its mouth giving her a toothy grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>A bargain made with the fire of any dragon’s brood,</span></em><span> they snarled in approval, hissing in laughter. </span><em><span>We are agreed.</span></em> <em><span>Grant me control, then, Warrior of Light. No harm will come to our pretty healer, for we love him as much as thee. By Midgardsormr’s Flame, do we swear!</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri nodded mentally at them, then opened her eyes to peer down at Urianger as she stilled the movement of her hips. He blinked up at her, raising an eyebrow in an unspoken question of what she was thinking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Urianger, my--that is--it’s my dragon soul,” she said, stumbling over her words, not wanting to disturb him with the request. “It sleeps within my mind, for the most part, but it’s awakened by strong sensations and emotions, like that of battle--or that of passion. Those two are the favorite, currently.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, I see,” he replied. “And thy dragon soul is...awakened, currently?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It is--I mean, </span>
  <em>
    <span>they</span>
  </em>
  <span> are,” she corrected herself. “They are--quite taken with you, actually, Urianger. They asked me if I could allow them temporary control of my body, so they could--touch you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri watched in fascination as Urianger’s cheeks reddened in a blush. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see,” he murmured, and she could tell the request had taken him by surprise, but he did not recoil. A thoughtful look suffused his face, and he stroked her hips lightly as he considered her words. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that all thy dragon soul desires of me?” he asked, grinning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not in the least,” she replied, smiling. “They would like to do more than touch you, if you get my meaning. I told them I would only allow it with your consent.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger nodded, his lips pursed thoughtfully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will admit, Tetri,” he said, “that although I have had many sexual experiences, making love with a dragon is not something I have ever consciously considered! I am...surprised, but not disturbed, by thy request.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked at her, giving a gentle smile at the look of trepidation on her face. Tetri tightened her fingers against Urianger’s chest, feeling her dragon soul’s sudden fear of rejection by the object of their shared affections, a feeling Tetri herself was all too familiar with. She saw their tail thrash restlessly in her mind’s eye as they waited. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Still,” he said, moving a hand across her breasts to rest between her heart, “they are a part of thee, beloved, and I love </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> of thee, not just the portions of thyself thou wouldst openly display to the world. If it be alright with thee, I would not object to a tumble with thy invisible companion. After all they have helped thee do, in service to the Scions, the Source, and now to the First, I see no reason to deny thee both, if thou art agreed in concert.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tetri nodded and let out a sigh of relief, smiling at the depth of her lover’s acceptance of them. Part of her couldn’t believe he had agreed; and yet, here was her beloved Urianger Augurelt, proving her wrong yet again, in the best possible way. How she loved him; how </span>
  <em>
    <span>they</span>
  </em>
  <span> loved him so!    </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She ducked her head to hide her sudden tears, her purple bangs falling against her face, obscuring her eyes for a moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, my beloved Urianger,” she said in a whisper. “That means so much to me...to us. I will not forget this.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, my love,” he replied, reaching up and stroking her cheek tenderly, and she turned to press a kiss to his palm, before leaning down towards him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to--to give them control of me, now,” she said. “They agreed to allow me back at my say-so. I’ll still be here, though, I can feel everything they do with my body.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am ready,” he said, and he watched, transfixed, as Tetri closed her eyes and shook above him, arcs of delicate blue flames rising up suddenly from the surface of her skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The flames of dragonfire crawled across her entire body, framing the Miqo’te woman in a halo of azure light, tempestuous, dangerously radiant. Urianger’s breath caught at the beauty of the sight, and held his breath as those same azure flames engulfed him. He tensed beneath her, expecting to be burned, but the flames did not so much as sting, dancing across his skin almost playfully. He waved a hand through the blue fire surrounding them both, marveling at its beautiful color, at the sheer power he could feel vibrating through the aether composing it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Such powerful aether!” he exclaimed. “So this is the fabled dragonfire of dragoons and their dragon souls!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We thank thee, pretty healer,” said Tetri, her voice a sybillant whisper, much lower than her normal voice, and Urianger looked up at his lover as she opened her eyes. It was Tetri’s ruby eyes, but her slitted pupils were wide, and gleaming with the same azure as the flames surrounding them. Tetri grinned down at him, wide and pleased, a smile very unlike her, and scratched her nails lightly down Urianger’s chest, just enough to sting but not to break the skin, dragging a gasp out of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thou art kind, pretty healer, to allow us to touch thee,” said Tetri’s dragon soul, and Tetri’s ears twitched in expression of their satisfaction. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger gasped again as Tetri’s dragon soul rocked her hips against his hard length, and he reached out to grip her hips tightly.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah! Thou--intrigued me, powerful one,” he managed to say, staring up at the Miqo’te woman above him as she grinned down at him with wide eyes. This was most definitely not Tetri in control, he could feel her dragon soul’s aether rippling through her body, rending the air in currents of magical power. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am but a man of constant curiosity,” he said, “especially of rare and powerful magics, and thou hath tempted me. Yet, ‘ere thou lay claim to me, I would ask thee what to call thee.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The dragon soul hissed in laughter with Tetri’s mouth, the sybillant vibration moving straight through Urianger, making him shiver beneath his lover’s body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Our pretty healer is sssso respectful, as well as beautiful! Sssshe chose well,” they said, and Tetri’s tail thrashed against his lower legs as they gazed down at him with lust. They moved Tetri’s hands over his heart, feeling his racing heartbeat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have had many names,” they replied, “over many aeons, but now we have no name to possess. We do not remember much of who we once were. Our body was broken during the early years of the war between Dravania and Ishgard. Nidhogg’s rage commanded us, but it was out of loss that we fought, after our beloved mate perished. We expected to unite with them, in the Lifestream, but instead found ourselves adrift, ‘twixt mortal life and aetherial twilight. Our longing for lost love pulled us into thy people’s soulstones, and sssince that time, we have joined with the soul of dragoons uncountable, helping them to slay our own people. This did not anger us, for we killed many of thine own, as well, and sssuch was a balance eked out in the mortal realm. Still, we were not without reward, even so, for the dragoons’ mortal passions were ours to share. In this way, we reclaimed the echo of the love we used to have, with our mate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The dragon soul growled, a sound of sorrow deep in Tetri’s throat, sounding alien and strange even to Urianger’s ears, but he placed his hands over hers resting on his chest, stroking them in an effort to comfort the being above him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thank thee for sharing thy story with me, powerful one, though it clearly pains thee,” he murmured in reply. “I would distract thee from such painful memories, if thou wouldst allow me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He watched Tetri give a sharp nod, as if unused to making such movements, and they leaned down to brush their lips lightly against his own. He could feel the heat of their draconic aether press against him, hot like the heat of midsummer, and he groaned into the kiss, despite its gentleness, wanting more. The strangeness of this being was not enough to frighten him, for this was an indelible part of Tetri herself, and he wanted </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> of her, especially the parts she had willfully hidden from him! Urianger felt his own desire abruptly rekindled, and he nipped at the lips kissing him, relishing the distinctively draconian growl they emitted in response. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yesss, pretty healer,” they replied, sighing against his lips, privately relieved he wanted them back. “Distract usss, if thou wilt! We are thine! Call us what thou wilt, but we would have thee love usss!”    </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger chuckled, and he felt his lover rock their hips sharply against him in rising desperation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thy flames art so blue, like the widest, purest heavens above,” he said, and they felt his words like the sweetest caress. “I would like to call thee ‘Sky,’ if thou wouldst accept such a name from me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He watched Tetri’s body shiver as the dragon soul within her gazed down at him with naked longing, and they blinked away tears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A beautiful name, from a beautiful mortal,” they said, their voice low with wonder. “What a gift thou bessstoweth upon us! We are grateful, ssso grateful… Yesss, beloved, call usss Sky!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good,” he said, and grinned as he leaned up to grasp the Miqo’te’s body and pull them into a heated kiss, leaving them panting. “Then I will distract thee and Tetri both, dearest Sky, for it is time both of thee learned thy lessons of the lovers’ arts.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh? Isss that ssso, pretty healer?” said Sky, grinning up at the Elezen above them, their ears twitching in delight. “Thou may findeth us much more experienced than our dragoon wielder, of such arts. We are no ssstranger to the arts of love.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger smirked and chuckled down at her, and his smile was wicked. The sight sent a shiver through Sky.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That may be so, Sky,” he replied smoothly. “And yet, I surmise that, as powerful as thou art, thou art therefore unused to following orders, which is an art in and of itself, so that is where we will begin. As it happens, I thoroughly enjoy domination, and I would like to see a being as powerful as thee submit to me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Submission...to thee,” said Sky, as if testing his words and the meaning behind them. “Sssubmission, to a mortal…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger laughed again at the poorly hidden distaste in Sky’s words. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thou art truly unused to such! Good,” he said, “for now, I shall find thy yielding all the sweeter.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Elezen grasped them firmly, moving them off him, and he stood, towering over Tetri’s much smaller frame as Sky stared up at him from within Tetri’s eyes, sprawled inelegantly on the floor. Their blue flames still roiled about them both, had followed the perimeter of his body as he stood, and their nascent heat stoked his desire all the more. He stroked his hard length, staring down at her with a grin, enjoying even this little bit of power over both Tetri and her dragon soul. The thrill of control drifted over his mind, and Urianger welcomed it like an old friend. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“On thy knees, Sky,” he said, his voice firm with the power of command, and just like that, Sky was scrambling to kneel in front of him, stumbling a bit in their haste as they moved Tetri’s body awkwardly. Finally they looked up at him, kneeling, ears and tail twitching restlessly, and they panted with a combination of desire and fear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What wouldst thou have of usss, pretty healer?” said Sky in a whisper, their voice almost timid, and they had to fight a shiver at Urianger’s wicked answering grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Everything,” he said. “Obey me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yesss,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” they replied, and their ruby eyes gleamed with yearning. “Anything!”   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urianger’s grin widened, and he reached down and grasped Sky’s purple hair firmly, yanking their head back sharply, dragging a hissing gasp out their mouth at the pleasant sting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Excellent,” he said, “I will make of thee an apt pupil! Though Tetri hath not yet returned darkness to the sky above Il Mheg, we yet have a night ahead of us, and time enough to indulge our shared desire. And just as I shall overwhelm my sweet dragoon, so, too, shall I </span>
  <em>
    <span>break thee,</span>
  </em>
  <span> lovely dragon!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yesss!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” said Sky in a ragged moan, panting, ears back against their hair, their body shaking in his firm hold. “Break us, pretty healer! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Love usss</span>
  </em>
  <span>, however thou wisheth, please!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Very well,” he said, nodding, and they watched as Urianger’s eyes narrowed. “Let’s begin.” </span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading!</p><p> </p><p>Continued soon in: “Urianger II: The Astrologian’s Command”!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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